Today, 30th April, The Gujarat High Court declined an urgent hearing for a Public Interest Litigation challenging the uncontested election of a BJP candidate in Surat. Chief Justice Agarwal emphasized adherence to established legal procedures for election grievances, rejecting the use of PILs for election disputes. This case raises important questions about fair electoral processes and democratic perception.
Raj Thackeray | The Bombay High Court dismissed allegations of inciting violence against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray due to a lack of evidence for provocative speech or instigation. The court criticized the lower court’s decision and emphasized the importance of concrete evidence in legal proceedings regarding cases of alleged incitement and public disorder.
Today 1st April,The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Election Commission of India in response to a plea for thorough verification of Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips. The petition challenges the current guideline of sequential VVPAT verification and advocates for matching every EVM vote with its corresponding VVPAT slip. Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta have grouped the plea with other pending cases regarding EVM and VVPAT. The petitioner, Arun Kumar Agrawal, argues for faster verification and physical deposit of VVPAT slips, emphasizing the need for accurate ballot counting. This comes amidst concerns over discrepancies between EVM and VVPAT vote counts. The matter has been the subject of extensive debate and previous petitions regarding VVPAT verification.
The Supreme Court today rejected industry bodies’ pleas to delay disclosure of electoral bond numbers, emphasizing the importance of transparency in linking donors to political parties. The State Bank of India was instructed to submit all bond details by March 21, with the Chief Justice urging impartial and timely disclosure to prevent controversy.