Assembly Elections: Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Plea Seeking Fine & Debarment Of Candidates Not Wearing Masks During Campaigns

A division bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh of Delhi High Court today issued notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a petition seeking debarment and imposition of fines on candidates violating Covid-19 mask guidelines during the ongoing Assembly Elections in 5 states of the country.

The petition which has been preferred by the Chairman of the think tank Centre for Accountability and Systemic Change, Dr V. Singh, was opposed by the ECI which stated that the elections were not happening in Delhi, and therefore the masks related guidelines were to be enforced by the district level officials of the said five states.

Opposing issuance of notice he said that merely because the Election Commission is in Delhi, would not confer jurisdiction on the Delhi High Court for the case.

Appearing for the petitioner, Advocate Virag Gupta, however, refuted the objection placing reliance on a recent order of the Delhi High Court wherein Justice Hari Shankar had taken suo motu cognizance on incidents of non-wearing of masks by passengers in a Kolkata-Delhi Air India flight.

He said that in light of the recent rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, the technical objection of the Election Commission was at best "frivolous".

He further highlighted a Feb 26 notification of the Election Commission which had made it mandatory for every person involved in election-related activity to wear a mask.

Elaborating on the order on in-flight Covid-19 protocol, Gupta also said that the orders in that case too were issued to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which is based in Delhi, and also to private airlines. He further pressed that the Election Commission should perform its legal and constitutional obligations as laid down under Article 324 of the Constitution.