A Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said the State Election Officer, Chief Election Officer (CEO) and the District Election Officer were fully empowered and duty-bound to check such messages and advertising material being circulated by political parties.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Election Commission of India (EC) to ensure political parties and their candidates do not use any “vilifying” material in their campaigns for the February 5 Assembly poll.
A Bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said the State Election Officer, Chief Election Officer (CEO) and the District Election Officer were fully empowered and duty-bound to check such messages and advertising material being circulated by political parties .
It passed the direction on a plea alleging that unknown numbers were making spam calls and sending voice messages to the public and asking them to vote for a particular political party to continue getting freebies.
Advocate Sidhant Kumar, representing the ECI, said the commission took cognisance of the petitioners’ complaint and directed the CEO, Delhi, to enquire into the allegations and submit a report.
Mr. Kumar said EC issued guidelines mandating that political advertisements, including voice calls, were certified. He said appropriate action will be taken against all those violating the guidelines as soon as the CEO’s report is received.
The plea was filed by three lawyers, Dhrone Diwan, Kashish Dhawan and Arshia Jain, who appeared in person and claimed that a message was relayed through voice calls that if votes were not cast to a particular political party, voters’ freebies would be withdrawn.
The petitioners also sought for the postponement of the Assembly election, alleging that the spam calls were made to disseminate hatred and bias, and it would help create an opinion against other political parties that was enough to tarnish their image. However, the court said such a plea could not be granted with one week left for the poll.
Published – January 30, 2025 01:23 am IST