The Supreme Court of India set to hear the BJP’s appeal against a Calcutta High Court order regarding advertising on Monday. The High Court previously issued an order impacting BJP’s advertising activities. This appeal addresses the party’s concerns over restrictions on its promotional content.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court set to hear on Monday a plea filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) challenging a ruling by the Calcutta High Court. The High Court refused to intervene in a previous judgment that restricted the BJP from issuing advertisements deemed “violative” of the Model Code of Conduct during the Lok Sabha elections.
According to the cause list for May 27 published on the Supreme Court website, a vacation bench comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and K.V. Viswanathan scheduled to hear the BJP‘s appeal. On May 22, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court stated that it was not inclined to entertain the BJP’s appeal against the interim order issued by the single-judge bench.
On May 20, a single-judge bench restrained the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from publishing advertisements that allegedly violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) until June 4, the day the Lok Sabha poll results scheduled to be declared.
The court also barred the BJP from publishing the advertisements mentioned in a petition filed by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, which claimed the advertisements contained unverified allegations against the party and its workers.
The BJP subsequently filed an intra-court appeal before a division bench, arguing that the single-judge bench passed the order without giving the party a hearing. The division bench noted that the BJP could approach the single judge for a review, modification, or recall of the order.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) party expressed dissatisfaction with the publication of certain advertisements that they claimed were against the spirit of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). As a result, the TMC approached the Election Commission (EC) with their grievances.
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Based on the TMC‘s complaint, the EC issued a show-cause notice to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on May 18, directing them to submit a response by May 21.
The statement read,
“On May 20, 2024, the writ petition came before the high court. Despite acknowledging that the Election Commission of India (ECI) was already handling the matter and had issued a show-cause notice, the single judge proceeded to issue a comprehensive interim order, effectively acting as a final order. This order restrained the petitioner (BJP) from publishing the allegedly objectionable advertisements until June 4, 2024, or until further directives,”
The petition argued that the division bench should have considered the fact that the matter was heard and the order was passed by the single judge in the absence of the BJP, which has a “significant impact on its ability to campaign during the election.”
As an interim measure, the plea requested an ex-parte stay on the operations of the May 20 interim order, as well as the May 22 order passed by the high court.