The Supreme Court on Thursday warned the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) of contempt action if it renotifies the election process to 367 local bodies, where it has already commenced, in order to provide reservation to OBCs.
From steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal to billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal's Airtel, Anil Agarwal's Vedanta, ITC, Mahindra and Mahindra, and a lesser-known Future Gaming and Hotel Services were among the prominent buyers of the now-scrapped electoral bonds for making political donations.
The attorney general's office filed the case on Sunday, the same day when clashes broke out in the House between pro-government MPs and opposition lawmakers following differences over the approval of four members of his cabinet.
Controversial MP and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sakshi Maharaj stirred a fresh controversy by holding Muslims responsible for population boom at a public event in Meerut on Friday.
'The name Shiv Sena was given by my grandfather, how can the EC change the name?'
'These machines are standalone devices with no external connectivity, making hacking impossible. The chip in EVMs is one-time programmable, ensuring no changes can be made. Strict security and administrative protocols further prevent any tampering'
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, which was hearing an application filed by the Election Commission (EC) seeking a modification of the operative portion of its March 11 order in the electoral bonds case, directed its registrar (judicial) to ensure that the data filed earlier by the poll panel before it in a sealed cover be scanned and digitised.
The RTI also sought the details of the fees paid by the SBI to senior advocate Harish Salve to defend its case against the disclosure of the electoral bonds' records, citing that the records are held in a fiduciary capacity and the information is personal in nature.
A bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar granted liberty to the petitioner to serve the advance copy of the plea to the standing counsel for the respondents.
The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against heads of political parties for not following its directions to prevent criminalisation of politics in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls held earlier this year.
Key individual parties have cornered a larger share, with some favouring regional and others national players.
During the hearing, petitioner Upadhyay submitted that while individuals cannot seek vote in the name of religion or caste, political parties can be formed using religious connotations which cannot be permitted.
No Service Chief to date has had the guts to streamline the procedure in conjunction with the Election Commission and ensure every soldier votes in his/her place of posting, observes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Justice V Bhavani Subbaroyan in an order passed on June 12, 2024 said in 'every employment and educational avenues,' the government shall prescribe separate norms for transgenders.
Political parties fielding candidates with criminal cases will have to mandatorily upload on their website details of such persons as also reasons for selecting them to contest the polls, the Election Commission said on Saturday.
'It will split people and create caste clashes. Unity of people will be affected for the time being.'
The court said it is the responsibility of Parliament to show its collective will to restrain criminals from entering politics or legislature to save democracy and the country governed on democratic principles and the rule of law.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called for tough decisions and unity within the party after the Congress suffered electoral defeats in Maharashtra and Haryana. In a meeting with top party leaders, Kharge highlighted the need to strengthen the organization from the grassroots, fix accountability, and address internal bickering. He also urged leaders to remain united and avoid public criticism of each other. The Congress chief expressed concern over the party's performance in state elections despite a strong showing in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. He acknowledged the need to learn from the setbacks and improve the party's strategy and communication to counter its rivals' propaganda.
There may be those who could want to go slow, citing the large pendency of follow-up action and court cases that they would have to process and/or proceed with, before raiding more politicians, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
State industries minister Uday Samant and party leader Ramdas Kadam gave information about the resolutions passed in the meeting.
'There were deep discussions within the Sangh Parivar before this decision was made.' 'They were convinced, and only then did the Modi government proceed with the caste census.'
When a strong executive decides it wants something, even something that is dangerous and unconstitutional, there is little resistance from within to stop it, notes Aakar Patel.
Aggrieved by the violence that marked the panchayat poll in West Bengal which claimed at least 12 lives and left 43 injured, several candidates who were in the fray had met the SEC officials and demanded the repolling.
In fresh trouble for former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, the Election Commission on Sunday slapped a showcause notice on him for failing to lodge his election expenses as per law in a paid news case and asked him why he should not be disqualified.
The BJP and Congress are the top two beneficiaries of the electoral bonds, followed by the Trinamool Congress.
Leaders of several opposition parties on Thursday hailed the Supreme Court verdict striking down the electoral bonds scheme and termed it an important step in ensuring transparency in electoral funding.
The Shiv Sena split last month when more than two-thirds of the party's MLAs withdrew their support from the Maharashtra government led by Uddhav Thackeray, throwing their lot with Shinde.
Justice Sanjeev Narula said it would be in the interest of both -- the two Shiv Sena factions and the general public -- that the Election Commission's proceedings on the use of Shiv Sena's bow and arrow election symbol and name are concluded soon. It asked the poll panel to decide the issue as expeditiously as possible.
The Madras high court had observed that the responsible EC officials should probably be tried on murder charges for their failure to ensure adherence to COVID-19 protocols during the election process in four states and a Union Territory.
Shinde said he would give a detailed reaction after the order but maintained that the Election Commission has allowed his outfit to keep the name 'Shiv Sena' and its 'bow and arrow' symbol.
'Young people say they know all this emphasis on Hindu-Muslim differences is politically motivated.' 'If you stop watching TV and turn off social media, you'll find the situation on the ground different.'
The case was registered against Khan for allegedly making a provocative speech targeting the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, the then Rampur district election officer and the Election Commission at a rally in the Dhamora area on April 8, 2019 during the Lok Sabha polls.
In a massive setback to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi high court on Tuesday dismissed his petition challenging his arrest in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise scam, saying there was no contravention of legal provisions.
The three commissioners, including the Chief Election Commissioner, are entitled to a salary which is "equal to the salary of a judge of the Supreme Court", according to the provisions of a law governing their conditions of service.
The Congress leader said he believes that democracy is derailed and "we are becoming too authoritarian". "It's all about one-man show," he said.
Arguing before the entire EC, Mahesh Jethmalani, the counsel for the Shinde faction, also said the 'surreptitious and unconstitutional' change to the Shiv Sena's constitution by Uddhav Thackeray in 2018 and the ideological shift in the party, which aligned with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party to form the government in Maharashtra in 2019, led to a split in the outfit.
This article traces the history of the DMK's fight for state autonomy, beginning with C.N. Annadurai's advocacy in the 1960s and culminating in M. Karunanidhi's resolution in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 1974. The article highlights the key figures involved, the arguments presented, and the impact of the Rajamannar Committee Report.
The State Bank of India told the Supreme Court on Thursday it has provided all details of the electoral bonds in its possession to the Election Commission.
The Maharashtra cabinet had approved the two bills on Friday and they were introduced in the assembly and later in the Council for passage.
Hearing a petition by former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray against the Election Commission's interim order freezing Shiv Sena's name and election symbol, the Delhi high court on Monday asked why it should not wait for the final decision of the poll panel on the dispute between the party factions.
