Election petitions should ideally be disposed within 6 months: K'taka HC
Bengaluru, Sep 8: The Karnataka High Court has observed that election petitions should ideally be disposed within six months.
It derided the habit of dragging such petitions till the next elections.
Justice Krishna S Dixit made this observation while hearing an election petition filed in 2018 by Muniraju Gowda, who as the BJP candidate, lost the Rajarajeshwari Nagar assembly seat to the then Congress candidate Munirathna Naidu, who is now a minister in the BJP government.
The court made this observation during the arguments when the counsels for both the petitioner and respondent were struggling to verify some of the documents submitted. The court said it was not prudent to waste the court's time in such cases.
Muniraju Gowda had filed the petition under the Representation of the People Act seeking the disqualification of Naidu.
Naidu subsequently joined the BJP and won the same assembly seat from the party in a by-election. While, Gowda is now an MLC from the ruling party.
Gowda deposed before the court on Thursday. He reiterated his allegation that Naidu had got officers of various departments transferred to places of his choice before the election was announced.
He also submitted documents to the HC regarding other cases that are pending in lower courts regarding his complaint about alleged corruption by Naidu.
Gowda also claimed he has filed complaints alleging corruption against Naidu, who was a powerful man, and a criminal case was also pending before the special court to try cases against politicians.
While Muniraju was deposing from the witness box, Justice Dixit directed the court officer to provide him a chair in the witness box itself saying there was no need for him to stand.
After a chair was provided, the Justice in a lighter vein said that people are attached to chairs (read position) and Gowda should leave this chair behind in the court after the hearing.
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No disputed structure should be called mosque: UP CM Adityanath
Mahakumbh Nagar (UP), Jan 11: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said no controversial structure should be referred to as "a mosque", asserting that tenets of Islam are "against constructing a mosque-like structure" at disputed sites.
Adityanath made the remarks while referring to the Shahi Jama Masjid dispute in Sambhal that sparked violence in November last year, according to an official statement.
The chief minister, while speaking at an event of a private news channel here, also said that worship at disputed sites is neither acceptable to God nor in line with Islamic principles, it said.
"We must never call a controversial structure a mosque. The day we stop calling it (a mosque), people will stop going there. Islam itself teaches against hurting anyone's faith or constructing a mosque-like structure at such places," the chief minister said.
"If God disapproves, why should we engage in such futile worship?" he questioned.
Adityanath emphasized that Islam does not require the construction of specific structures for worship, unlike Sanatan Dharma, where temples are central to religious practice, the statement said.
He called for a shift towards unity and progressive thinking, saying, "This is time to embrace the vision of a new India."
On the Sambhal violence over a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, he said that Sambhal was prophesied as the birthplace of Kalki, the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, long before the advent of Islam.
The chief minister further stated that historical documents like Ain-i-Akbari mention the demolition of a Shri Hari Vishnu temple in 1526 to erect the Jama Masjid, calling for the site to be voluntarily returned, the statement said.
He also suggested that the issue of disputed religious sites, such as the Shahi Jama Masjid, should not require judicial intervention. Instead, he advocated for mutual reconciliation, urging "followers of Islam to acknowledge the truth and extend a gesture of goodwill", according to the statement.
On the matter of the Places of Worship Act, Adityanath expressed confidence that the courts would ensure justice and respect for faith.
The Mughal-era Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal came into spotlight after a local court accepting a plea that it has been built over a temple ordered survey in November last year. During the second survey of the mosque on November 24, violence broke out in Sambhal in which four people were killed.
On the historical significance of Ayodhya, Adityanath also expressed gratitude for the installation of Ram Lalla's idol in 2024, noting that it ended a 500-year-long wait. He stated that the Maha Kumbh-2025 was being held at an auspicious time.
Reflecting on his slogan "Ek hain to nek hain, batenge to katenge", Adityanath highlighted the importance of unity, saying, "History has shown us that division weakens us. If we learn from the mistakes of the past, such situations will never arise again."
The chief minister also attacked the opposition INDIA bloc, saying, "Those who once strangled the Constitution now hold its copy to mislead the public."
He also pointed out that terms like "secular" and "socialist" were added to the Constitution during the Emergency, the statement said.
