The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce its verdict on Friday on a batch of pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using electronic voting machines (EVMs) with voter verifiable paper audit trail, or VVPAT.
The government has provided Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar with a Z-category VIP security cover of armed commandos in view of potential threats against him, official sources said on Tuesday.
'The Election Commission cannot be regulated by the government.'
The counting was scheduled to start at 5 pm Friday, but it could not be taken up as the Bharatiya Janata Party approached the Election Commission alleging violation of rules by three MLAs of the state's ruling alliance of Maha Vikas Aghadi.
When the Bharatiya Janata Party's Mukesh Dalal was declared elected unopposed to the Lok Sabha from Surat on Monday, he became the first candidate to achieve the feat from Gujarat since its formation 64 years ago though the erstwhile state of Saurashtra saw a similar instance in 1951.
'The EC's role in this is questionable. What is the reason for this delay? Are they waiting for instructions?'
The top court said it needs to go through the case files and posted the matter for hearing at 3:30 pm on Wednesday
The order came following a petition in the high court seeking direction to the police to ensure protection to Opposition party workers in the wake of alleged post-poll violence in some places of the state following the elections.
The orders will come into force from 7 pm on Thursday.
The bench said the petition has relied on a March 2 verdict of the apex court which had ruled that the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and ECs will be done by the President on the recommendation of a committee, comprising the prime minister, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and the CJI, to maintain the "purity of election".
Mahua asserted that despite all efforts by the Bharatiya Janata Party to "sound the death knell" for constitutional democracy, India is too great a country to be destroyed by the fascists.
WFI decided that it will seek a dialogue with the Sports Ministry for revocation of its suspension, saying it does not want a clash with the government and the legal options will be explored only if talks fail.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) gave a huge blow to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance by winning 43 seats out of total 80 Lok Sabha seats of Uttar Pradesh, as per the Election Commission.
'We have now drastically simplified it, primarily to two rates in long-term capital gains: 20% and the applicable rates. Similarly, in short-term capital gains.' 'For listed shares, there is a slight increase, but for unlisted shares, where indexation benefits are removed, there is a reduction in rates, benefiting unlisted companies, venture capital firms, etc.' 'Similarly, in real estate, wherever returns are higher, the new structure is beneficial. In very few cases, returns are lower, and those are more of an exception.'
Bypoll to the Bhabanipur assembly seat in West Bengal, from where chief minister and Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee plans to contest, would be held on September 30, the Election Commission announced on Saturday.
Besides the national capital, polling will be held Saturday in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats of Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir. Simultaneously, polling will be held for 42 assembly constituencies in Odisha.
In a post on X, Atishi questioned the "sealing" of the party office, saying it is against the "level playing field" promised by the Constitution.
The West Bengal Congress unit issued a denial and said the state president meant "TMC and BJP are just the opposite sides of the same coin as both are venomous and spread lies".
The Election Commission on Friday recognised the Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real Shiv Sena and ordered allocation of the "bow and arrow" poll symbol to it.
The Madras high court on Monday came down hard on the Election Commission and called it the "the most irresponsible institution" for the alleged spread of the second wave of Covid-19 in the country.
The EC had cautioned that the video van events should not cause inconvenience to the people and should not be a hindrance to smooth flow of traffic.
Suryavanshi said the personal mobile phone of one Dinesh Gurav, the data entry operator of Jogeshwari assembly constituency, was found in the hands of an unauthorised person and action is being taken in this regard.
'There are many smaller parties, which in the age of ballot paper, might not have come into existence'
'If somebody's parents have given a similar name, can it come in their way of their right to contest elections'
Writing his views in a separate verdict while concurring with the opinion of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who was heading the bench, Justice Datta said the question of reverting to "paper ballot system", on facts and in the circumstances, does not and cannot arise.
A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud acknowledged that the Madras high court's remarks were 'harsh', but did not expunge them, saying they do not form part of the judicial order.
Maintain a proper record of documents that can act as proof of the cost of acquisition of the property, cost of improvements made to the property, expenses related to transfer of the property (like brokerage and registration charges). These will come in handy in case of a dispute with the taxman.
The first bench refused to restrain the media, both electronic and print, from publishing the oral observations of the judges relating the role of EC in holding elections to four states and the Union Territory of Puducherry in the country during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bharatiya Janata Party's Sandeshkhali leader Gangadhar Koyal on Friday moved the Calcutta high court, claiming that technology-aided videos mimicking his voice were being circulated in a bid to defame him, and prayed for security be provided to him by central agencies.
Voting for the second phase of Lok Sabha polls will be held on Friday for 88 seats in 13 states with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi seeking a second-straight term from Wayanad in Kerala.
Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Sunday clarified that he is not injured but has pulled out of the Ostrava Golden Spike meet in Czech Republic on May 28 as a precautionary measure after he felt "something" on his adductor muscles during a recent training session.
All 13 candidates in the fray in Indore against Lalwani, who won by a potentially record margin votes, lost their security deposit, indicating they were clearly rejected by the voters. If a candidate gets fewer than one-sixth of the total valid votes cast in a constituency, his/her security deposit is seized by the EC.
Gopi defeated Communist Party of India leader VS Sunilkumar in an exciting fight.
A sitting MLA and Bharatiya Janata Party candidate allegedly broke an electronic voting machine (EVM) and attacked a polling officer inside a booth during voting in Odisha which recorded a voter turnout of over 60.97 per cent in six Lok Sabha seats and 42 assembly segments, officials said.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to produce before it in sealed cover the "up to date" data of funds received by political parties through electoral bonds till September 30, 2023.
The counting of votes will take place on November 2.
The BJP leader said the Congress wants to divide the country on the basis of religion and region.
Justice Rastogi asks Mehta if he thinks that in the absence of law, whatever appointments are being made in a process are appropriate.
In a letter to the TMC, the EC said at the outset, it needs to be stated that injuries sustained by Banerjee on Wednesday evening in Nandigram is "indeed an unfortunate incident and deserves to be inquired into with promptitude and dispatch."
Following is the chronology of events in the case related to validity of the electoral bonds scheme, a mode of funding to political parties, in which a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a landmark verdict annulling it.
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