EC responsible for 2nd wave, says HC
You are the only institution that is singularly responsible for the (Covid-19) situation today... No action against political parties taking rallies despite court orders. Your election commission officials should be put up on murder charges probably MADRAS HIGH COURT
CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Monday held the Election Commission of India (ECI) responsible for the second wave of the coronavirus in the country and said that officials should probably be tried on charges of murder for allowing political parties to hold massive rallies without following Covid-19 norms.
The first bench of chief justice Sanjib Banerjee and justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy warned the ECI that they may stall the counting of votes on May 2 and postpone it unless a blueprint is produced to the court on April 30 on adherence to Covid-19 protocol at counting centres.
“At no cost can counting result as a catalyst for a further surge, politics or no politics, whether the counting takes place in a staggered manner or is deferred,” the court said.
The order was passed during a hearing on a writ petition filed by Tamil Nadu transport minister MR Vijayabhaskar seeking a direction for safety measures and fairness during counting in Karur constituency from where he is contesting.
“You are the only institution that is singularly responsible for the situation today,” the Chief Justice said during the hearing. “No action against political parties taking rallies despite court orders. Your election commission officials should be put up on murder charges probably.”
The bench noted that face masks and sanitisers weren’t used and no social distancing was maintained during election campaigning. “Were you on another planet when the election rallies were held?” the chief justice asked the ECI counsel, Niranjan Rajagoapalan.
Stating that public health is of paramount importance, the court said, “It is only when a citizen survives that he’ll be able to enjoy the rights that a democratic republic guarantees.”
The court directed the ECI to file a blueprint after a detailed consultation with the state health secretary.
Elections had been held in four states --Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and West Bengal and the Union Territory of Puducherry -- and the counting of polled votes will be taken up on May 2.
While voting is over in all the other states, the seventh of the eight-phase polling in West Bengal is underway on Monday,
with the last phase scheduled on April 29.
Earlier, the Calcutta high court had expressed dissatisfaction with the ECI over the enforcement of Covid-19 health safety norms during the ongoing West Bengal assembly election process, including campaigning.
On April 22, hearing three public interest litigations (PILs) seeking enforcement of Covid protocol during the polls, a division bench presided by Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan had said issuance of circulars and holding meetings on Covid safety were not enough.
It later directed the competent authorities to make the people of West Bengal abide by the restrictions imposed by the commission on public behaviour regarding protective protocol for Covid-19 in the state, which also has witnessed an alarming rise in infections.