New Delhi: In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a PIL seeking to bar Prime Minister Narendra Modi from elections for making alleged hate speeches during campaigning.
The Supreme Court also dismissed another petition seeking direction to the Election Commission of India ECI to address hate speeches made during election campaigns, specifically those made by members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
On Monday, the Delhi High Court also dismissed a plea seeking a direction for immediate action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other candidates contesting in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections over alleged hate speech in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
The plea referred to a speech of PM Modi delivered on April 21 in Banswara, Rajasthan.
Justice Sachin Datta, while dismissing the plea, observed, “I cannot micromanage the Election Commission of India as to how they deal with the situation. The ECI is a constitutional body and it cannot be presumed that it will not do anything. This court finds no merit in the petition. The petition is accordingly dismissed.”
Appearing for the petitioner, Advocate Nizam Pasha alleged that the ECI has taken action against several other leaders but didn’t take any cognizance of any complaint filed against PM Modi.
Meanwhile, appearing for ECI, Advocate Suruchi Suri submitted that the BJP has recently, through a communication, sought an extension of time to reply to its notice and the reply is expected by May 15.
Recently, on April 25, the Election Commission took note of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks and served a notice to BJP national president JP Nadda over the former’s “infiltrator” comments during a campaign speech at Banswara in Rajasthan.
The plea was moved by three persons, namely Shaheen Abdullah, Amitabh Pande and Deb Mukharji. They have sought a direction from the Delhi HC to the ECI to take immediate action, including filing of FIR against the political leaders delivering hate speeches.
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