The Delhi High Court on April 28 dismissed a petition seeking to order the Election Commission of India (ECI) to act against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly violating the model code of conduct (MCC) by allegedly seeking votes for the upcoming Lok Sabha election “in the name of god and place of worship”.
Justice Sachin Datta said the present petition filed by Mr Anand S. Jondhale, an advocate, is “thoroughly misconceived for multiple reasons”. The judge said the poll panel is presently seized of a complaint filed by Mr Jondhale against Mr Modi.
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“Once the petitioner [Mr Jondhale] has submitted his complaint on April 10 at the ECI, there is no occasion for the petitioner to approach the court prior to the disposal of his complaint by the ECI,” the court said.
Mr Jondhale had also sought a direction to the ECI to disqualify Mr Modi from elections for six years under the Representation of Peoples Act.
His plea is premised on the allegation that during a speech delivered by the Prime Minister at Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh on April 9, an appeal was made to the voters to vote for his party “in the name of Hindu deities and places of worship and also in the name of Sikh deities and Sikh places of worship”.
The high court, however, said, “the petitioner presupposes that there has been a violation of model code of conduct...this pre-supposition is completely unjustified”.
“It is also not permissible for the court to direct the ECI to take a particular view on the petitioner’s complaint or any other complaint for that matter. The ECI is obliged to take an independent view on petitioner’s complaint,” the judge added.
During the brief hearing, ECI’s counsel submitted that the complaint made by Mr Jondhale will be duly processed and appropriate orders will be passed.
Following this, the high court dismissed the plea, saying, “if the petitioner is aggrieved by the ECI’s order, it can take appropriate legal remedies”.
Earlier this month, Mr Jondhale had complained to the poll panel against Prime Minister Modi regarding the same issue. “But till date no action has been taken by the Respondent No.1. [ECI],” his petition had stated.
“Respondent No.2 [Prime Minister Modi] said that he has constructed the Ram Temple. Respondent No.2 also stated that he developed Kartarpur Sahib Corridor and removed GST from material used in Langars served in Gurudwaras. The Respondent No.2 also said that he had brought back the copies of Guru Granth Sahib from Afghanistan,” the plea stated.
Mr Jondhale further claimed that Prime Minister Modi “not only sought votes in the name of Hindu and Sikh Deities and their Places of Worship, but also made comments against opposite political parties as favoring Muslims”.
“Thus, the Respondent No.2 has violated the Model Code of Conduct...which states that no Party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes or communities, religious or linguistic,” the plea said.
