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Tripura Elections - 'Candidates Were Not Allowed To Vote; There Is Complete Mayhem' : Kapil Sibal Seeks Urgent Hearing By Supreme Court
Mehal Jain
26 Nov 2021 10:52 AM IST
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal on Friday mentioned a fresh application seeking the Supreme Court's immediate intervention in connection with the Tripura Municipal elections.Before the bench headed by Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, Mr. Sibal urged, "Your Lordships yesterday directed that it is important that both electronic and print media should have unhindered access for full reporting and coverage...
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal on Friday mentioned a fresh application seeking the Supreme Court's immediate intervention in connection with the Tripura Municipal elections.
Before the bench headed by Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, Mr. Sibal urged, "Your Lordships yesterday directed that it is important that both electronic and print media should have unhindered access for full reporting and coverage of the election process. We have Times Now and other print media saying that the SC order has been violated! Candidates were not allowed to enter the booths! No 2 constables, no 2 battalions of CAPF were provided! There is complete mayhem! Please take this up in the afternoon today! What has transpired is horrendous! We have photos of people on the ground showing that the SC order was not followed! It is very serious that is why I am mentioning! Results are to be declared! If today is not possible, please take it up tomorrow though it is a Saturday"
Justice Chandrachud noted that the bench is sitting in a combination different from the one which had passed the orders, the violation of which is being alleged. 'We have a very tight schedule today. We have official events tomorrow for the constitutional day", said the judge
When Mr. Sibal pressed that the matter may be heard at 4 PM on Friday itself, Justice Chandrachud said that he would consider the request at lunch.
Yesterday, on the polling day for the Tripura local body elections, a bench comprising Justice DY Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Vikram Nath had passed a series of directions to ensure the presence of Central Armed Police Force personnel in each of the 770 polling booths in the state. The bench had directed the DGP and the Secretary of Home Department of Tripura to review the security situation and to requisition additional battallion of CRPF if needed. The Court had also directed that the print and electronic media should be given unhindered access to give complete coverage of election process.
The bench passed the directions after hearing All India Trinamool Congress, the writ petitioner and Communist Party of India (Marxist), the intervenor. Both the opposition parties alleged that the members of the ruling Bharathiya Janata Party had unleashed violence to disrupt peaceful elections and the police and administration were complicit.
On the previous hearing date, November 23, the bench had turned down the plea made by Trinamool Congress to postpone the local body elections, scheduled to take place today. However, the bench issued a slew of directions to the DGP and IG (Law and Order) of Tripura to ensure that the polls take place in a peaceful manner. The Court asked the police to act in an "even handed" and "non-partisan" manner to assuage the grievances of the opposition members. The Court also directed the Tripura police to submit a chart today indicating the action taken on the complaints lodged by the Trinamool congress members.
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