Election rules row: SC allows 3 weeks to EC to respond to plea of Jairam Ramesh, others
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Thursday granted three more weeks to the Election Commission to respond to the pleas of Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh and others against the recent amendments to the 1961 election rules.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar had issued a notice to the Centre and the poll panel on January 15 on Ramesh's plea and sought a response.
Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the poll panel, sought three more weeks to file the reply.
The bench allowed Singh's prayer and set the July 21 week for hearing.
Aside from Ramesh, two similar PILs filed by Shyam Lal Pal and activist Anjali Bhardwaj are pending.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi represented Ramesh.
The petitioners have said the amendments to the 1961 Conduct of Election Rules were made "very cleverly" and barred any access to CCTV footage claiming it would reveal the identity of the voter.
Singhvi previously said voting choices were never revealed and the CCTV footage couldn't reveal votes and urged the bench to ask the poll panel and the Centre to file their responses before the next date of hearing.
Ramesh's plea was filed in December and expressed "hope" that the apex court would help "restore the fast eroding" integrity of the electoral process.
The government has tweaked an election rule to prevent public inspection of certain electronic documents such as CCTV camera and webcasting footage besides video recordings of candidates to prevent their misuse.
"The integrity of the electoral process is fast eroding. Hopefully the Supreme Court will help restore it," Ramesh said.
Based on EC's recommendation, the union law ministry in December amended Rule 93(2)(a) of the 1961 rules, to restrict the type of "papers" or documents open to public inspection.
Bhardwaj, in her separate plea filed through lawyer Prashant Bhushan, challenged the recent amendment to election rules which allegedly restrict public access to election-related records.
The PIL challenges the validity of the Conduct of Elections (Second Amendment) Rules, 2024 and argues the amendment to Rule 93(2)(a) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 violates Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution by restricting citizens' access to crucial election-related documents.
Prior to the amendment, it was stated, Rule 93(2)(a) provided "all other papers relating to the election shall be open to public inspection".
"The impugned amendment is a blatant violation of Article 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution of India as it brings opaqueness and restricts people's fundamental right to access vital documents and papers related to elections," the plea said.
The amendment, said the plea, sought to narrow and restrict public access to election related records, Rule 93(2)(a) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 prior to the 2024 amendment.
The new amendment is stated to have modified the provision to "all other papers as specified in these rules relating to the election shall be open to public inspection".
The petitioner argued the change introduced new and arbitrary restrictions on public access, limiting transparency in the electoral process.
The plea said the amendment infringed upon the fundamental right to information enshrined in Article 19(1)(a) and the right to a free and fair election under Article 21.
It claimed the amendment curtailed public scrutiny of election records, leading to reduced transparency and potentially facilitating corrupt practices.
The amendment, the plea said, imposed arbitrary constraints by restricting access to only those records explicitly mentioned in the rules, excluding others without justification.
By limiting access to election documents, the amendment is seen as contrary to the spirit of the RTI Act, which promotes governmental accountability and transparency, it added.
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SRH knocked out of play-off race after washout against DC
Hyderabad, May 5 (PTI): Sunrisers Hyderabad were eliminated from the play-offs race after their Indian Premier League fixture against Delhi Capitals was called off due to heavy rain following the first innings here on Monday.
Pat Cummins-led SRH pace attack ran through the DC batting line-up to limit the visitors to 133/7 before rain dashed the slim hopes of the home team. Both teams shared a point each for the abandoned game.
With 13 points from 11 games, DC remain in contention for a top-four spot.
After reaching the final last year, it was a season to forget for SRH who could not replicate their ballistic run of 2024 with the bat. Having collected only seven points from 11 matches, SRH will now be playing for pride.
Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were already eliminated from the competition.
Before rain lashed the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, the hosts put up a clinical effort with the ball and were on course for only their fourth win of the season until rain arrived, creating large puddles of water on the outfield. The match officials decided to call off the game at 11.10 pm local time.
The shot selection of Delhi Capitals' batters contributed to their downfall after being put in to bat.
They were left reeling at 29 for five in 7.1 overs with captain Cummins causing the maximum damage.
Cummins had Karun Nair caught behind on the very first ball of the match with a good length ball around the off-stump. It was a rather loose shot from the DC batter first up.
Faf du Plessis departed in Cummins' following over, a failed attempt to put the relentless Australian away for a boundary. Not getting any loose ball from Cummins, the South Africa went for a pull on the charge only to be caught by the wicket-keeper.
Cummins' third victim was Abhishek Porel who was caught after mistiming a flick.
Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat then got into the act by dismissing Axar Patel and K L Rahul respectively. The in-form Rahul went for a drive on the up but ended up edging it to Ishan Kishan behind the stumps.
It was one way traffic until Tristian Stubbs (41 not out off 36) and impact player Ashutosh Sharma (41 off 26) combined to take DC to a respectable total. They shared a 66-run stand off 45 balls.
Sharma was able to break the shackles by depositing leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari for a couple of sixes over long-on in the 15th over.
Stubbs did not look as comfortable as Sharma in the middle but managed to provide much needed support to the latter. The South African could find only four boundaries with the last one coming off the final ball of the innings.
🚨 News 🚨
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2025
Match 55 between @SunRisers and @DelhiCapitals has been called off due to wet outfield.
Both teams share a point each.
Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/1MkIwk4VNE
#TATAIPL | #SRHvDC pic.twitter.com/VnVZWjsjGJ
