SC notice to Centre, EC on plea seeking contempt proceedings for violation of court's order
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Centre and the EC on a plea seeking initiation of contempt proceedings for alleged violation of the apex court's judgment directing all candidates to declare their criminal antecedents to the poll panel before contesting elections.
A bench comprising Justices R F Nariman and Vineet Saran also sought response from the three deputy election commissioners, law secretary and the cabinet secretary for not complying with its judgment dated September 25, 2018.
The court was hearing a plea filed by lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay.
In September last year, a five-judge Constitution bench had unanimously held that all candidates will have to declare their criminal antecedents to the Election Commission(EC) before contesting polls and had called for wider publicity, through print and electronic media about the antecedents of candidates.
On October 10 last year, the EC had issued notification regarding the amended Form-26, and directions to political parties and candidates for publication of criminal antecedents.
However, the plea filed by Upadhyay had alleged that the EC neither amended the Election Symbol Order, 1968 nor the model code of conduct (MCC) so the said notification has no legal sanction.
"On October 10, 2018, the ECI issued direction to political parties and candidates for publication of criminal antecedents without amending the Election Symbol Order & Model Code of Conduct so the direction has no legal sanction," the plea had said.
It had also said that the ECI did not publish a list of leading newspapers-news channels nor clarified the timing for declaration of criminal antecedents by candidates which led to the candidates publishing them in unpopular newspapers and news channels during odd hours.
"It (the ECI) had not published list of leading newspapers-news channels, so candidates published criminal antecedents in unpopular newspapers-news channels. The ECI has not clarified the timing of publication, so candidates published criminal history in odd hours when people don't watch news channels. Political parties had neither published the details on website nor in newspapers or news channels during assembly elections, but the ECI did nothing against them," the plea had alleged.
"On March 10, the ECI announced the dates of General Election without amending the Election Symbol Order & Model Code of Conduct, which is essential for compliance of Judgment dated 25.9.2018 hence petitioner is filing the contempt petition," it had said.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
