'Wait for EC decision': SC defers hearing on Congress plea against Narendra Modi, Amit Shah for poll code violation

The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred the hearing of Congress leader Sushmita Dev’s petition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct. The court issued a notice to the Election Commission after hearing the plea and scheduled the hearing for 2 May. A two-judge bench of Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjiv Khanna heard the petition filed by the chief of the All India Mahila Congress, in which she sought action against Modi and Shah for making hate speeches and using the armed forces for “political propaganda”.

A two-Judge Bench of Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna assembles to hear the @INCIndia MP @sushmitadevmp petition. Sushmita Dev had sought for ECI to decide on multiple complaints filed against @PMOIndia and @BJP4India Amit @AmitShah. @ECISVEEP

— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) April 30, 2019

The Supreme Court asked the petitioner to wait for the Election Commission’s decision on the matter after it apprised the court of a meeting it held on Tuesday. The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi earlier took note of the submissions made by Congress leader and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who filed the plea on behalf of Dev. The petition sought a top court direction to the Election Commission to decide on the complaints filed against Modi and Shah “without any delay or demur, and in any case not later than 24 hours from the [court’s] order”, Scroll reported. The plea also alleged that despite several complaints, the Election Commission had failed to take any action against Modi and Shah for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct during their election rallies. Dev claimed that the poll panel’s “inaction” on the complaints against the top BJP leaders was “ a sign of invidious discrimination” and was “arbitrary, capricious and impermissible” as well as was destructive of the integrity of the electoral procedure. The first complaint against Modi was filed on 5 April after he brought up the religious demographics of Kerala’s Wayanad following Congress chief Rahul Gandhi’s decision to contest from the constituency, reported The Indian Express. On 9 April, while addressing a rally in Maharashtra , the prime minister had urged first-time voters to dedicate their votes to defence forces. The poll watchdog had said it was still reviewing Modi’s speech.