SC stays Karnataka HC's direction disqualifying JD(S) MLA, allows him to contest upcoming election
New Delhi, Apr 17: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the disqualification of Janata Dal (Secular) MLA D C Gowrishankar Swamy from the Tumkur Rural constituency in Karnataka and allowed him to contest the upcoming Assembly polls in the southern state.
The top court, however, said Swamy will not be entitled to cast his vote on the floor of the House or in any of the committees where he is nominated as a member.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and J K Maheshwari stayed a Karnataka High Court direction passed in its order dated March 30, in which it held: "The election of the returned candidate, D C Gowrishankar Swamy, a member of the legislative assembly, Tumkur Rural constituency, declared as per Form-21C dated May 15, 2018, is hereby declared void."
The court admitted Swamy's appeal filed through advocate Balaji Srinivasan and argued by senior advocate K K Venugopal for hearing and said as an interim measure, "it is directed that: (i) the direction issued by the high court in para 154(a) of the impugned judgment dated March 30, 2023 shall remain stayed".
The bench said Swamy shall be entitled to contest the May 10 Karnataka Assembly polls, subject to further directions that may be passed by the court at an appropriate stage.
"The appellant shall be entitled to all privileges, allowances and benefits as a member of the current state Legislative Assembly. However, he shall not be entitled to cast his vote on the floor of the House or in any of the committees where he is nominated as a member," it said.
The bench further directed that the parties shall be at liberty to seek appropriate directions immediately after the election results are declared on May 13.
"This interim arrangement is only for the current 15th state Legislative Assembly and the 16th state Legislative Assembly, liberty is granted to the parties to seek appropriate directions," it said and posted the matter for further hearing on July 14.
On March 30, the high court had disqualified Swamy in a case relating to alleged electoral malpractices.
It had, however, kept the disqualification in suspension for a month, allowing the lawmaker to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.
A single-judge bench of the high court had delivered its verdict on a petition filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate B Suresh Gowda, which alleged electoral malpractices by Swamy -- distributing fake insurance bonds among voters -- during the 2018 Karnataka Assembly polls.
Swamy defeated Gowda in the 2018 election.
The disqualification, under section 101 of the Representation of the People Act, came five years after the original complaint was filed by Gowda.
Apart from Swamy, the court also found the other accused -- Balanetraiah, Arehalli Manjunath, Krishnegowda, Renukamma and Sunanda -- guilty of corrupt poll practices. The suspension of the order was only in respect of Swamy and not the other accused, the high court had said.
After the Model Code of Conduct came into force on March 27, 2018, Swamy and his associates allegedly distributed fake insurance bonds to 32,000 adults and 16,000 minors, thereby violating section 123 of the Act, according to the election petition filed by Gowda.
The BJP leader approached the high court in July 2018 and the judgment on his plea came a day after the Election Commission (EC) announced the schedule for the 2023 Assembly polls.
Swamy had told the top court that he had filed the present appeal under section 116A of the Representation of the People Act, arising out of the impugned final order and judgment dated March 30, 2023 of the high court passed on an election petition.
He had said the high court had erroneously allowed the election petition in part filed by Gowda, an unsuccessful candidate in the 2018 Assembly polls.
"By way of the said order, the high court erroneously declared the election of the returned candidate, that is, the appellant, having being declared as elected as per Form-21C dated May 15, 2018 void and named the following persons in terms of section 99(1)(a)(ii) of the Representation of the People Act for having committed corrupt practices at the election, namely Balanethraiah G, Arehalli Manjunath, Krishnegowda, Renukammma and Sunanda," Swamy's plea said.
It added that in the 2018 polls, Swamy had garnered 82,740 votes, while Gowda had secured 77,100 votes and therefore, the former was declared as elected by a substantial margin of 5,640 votes, and the returning officer had issued Form 21-C under section 64 of the Representation of the People Act on May 15, 2018, declaring him as elected.
"The respondent no. 1 (Gowda), with mala-fide intentions, had challenged the validity of the election of the appellant (Swamy), contending that his election was vitiated by the commission of corrupt practices as defined under section 123(1) and 123(2) of the Representation of the People Act by filing election petition no. 1 of 2018," the plea said.
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Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
