SC refuses to hear Cong MP's plea seeking action against Modi, Shah for poll code violations
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday refused to hear Congress MP Sushmita Dev's plea seeking action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President Amit Shah for alleged poll code violations.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta, however, gave Dev the liberty to file a fresh plea against various Election Commission (EC) orders rejecting complaints of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violations by Modi and Shah during campaigning.
The apex court had on Monday asked the MP from Silchar to bring on record the EC's orders giving clean chit to the BJP leaders on several complaints of MCC violations over alleged hate speeches and references to armed forces for "political propaganda".
"Rightly or wrongly", the poll panel has decided the complaints of MCC violations and these orders warrant filing of a fresh petition, the bench said.
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the EC, said the persons who had given representations of MCC violations to the poll panel have not come forward to assail them.
Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Dev, said the poll panel had given unreasoned orders in dismissing the complaints against Modi and Shah.
The EC has given clean chit to Modi for two of his speeches -- one in Latur last month urging first time voters to dedicate their votes in the name of Balakot air strike heroes and soldiers killed in the Pulwama attack, and the other in Wardha on April 1, slamming Congress chief Rahul Gandhi where he had also indicated that Kerala constituency had more voters from the minority community.
Dev had on Tuesday claimed before the apex court that the EC has failed to appreciate that the alleged "hate speeches" by PM Modi and Shah are "corrupt practices" and promote the feeling of enmity on religious grounds.
In an affidavit, Dev has said that the poll panel has passed orders in a "cryptic manner without mentioning any reason whatsoever, in stark violation of the law laid down by this court" while disposing of some complaints.
The Congress party has on May 6 lodged a fresh complaint before the poll panel against Modi for his remarks which "maligned and tarnished the image" of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Dev said in the affidavit filed in the court
The apex court had on Monday asked the Congress MP to bring on record EC's orders giving clean chit to Modi and Shah, after she accused the poll panel of inaction on complaints against the two BJP leaders for allegedly violating the MCC with "hate speeches" and using armed forces for "political propaganda"
Alleging discrimination and arbitrariness on part of the EC, Dev had said that the poll panel has initiated action for violation of model code of conduct against Union minister Maneka Gandhi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BSP Supremo Mayawati and BJP leader Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur for statements which were similar in "tone, tenor, meaning, purport and intention" to Modi and Shah's statements.
Dev said that the dissent reported and given by one of the Election Commissioners is not provided along with the order.
"This demonstrates a complete lack of transparency and arbitrariness of the Respondent's (EC) decision-making process on complaints against Shri Modi and Shri Amit Shah," the affidavit said.
Dev, in her plea, has alleged inaction by EC in deciding complaints against Modi and Shah and has said that it was "a sign of invidious discrimination" and also "arbitrary, capricious and impermissible" as it was destructive of the integrity of electoral process.
The plea listed out several alleged instances of MCC violations by Modi and Shah in their meetings and referred to as the first violation the speech of Modi at a rally at Wardha, Maharashtra, on April 1 where he had allegedly raised the issue of 'bhagva aatankwad' (saffron terror).
Earlier, the apex court had directed the poll panel to decide by May 6, the nine complaints of the Congress party alleging violations of MCC by the Prime Minister and Shah.
The poll panel had said that by May 8, it was likely to consider all the representations of the Congress party and its leader.
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Delhi: Father, son held for killing 19-year-old woman in suspected honour killing
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
