A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha said the petitions raise three separate issues and hence, the need to hear them separately.
A fresh political row has erupted in West Bengal after a person allegedly involved in Bangladesh's August 2024 student protests was found listed as a voter in Kakdwip, triggering sharp Bharatiya Janata Party-Trinamool Congress exchanges over alleged illegal infiltration and manipulation of the voter list in the state.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear on December 6 the plea of a Congress leader challenging a recent notification by which the sale of electoral bonds has been extended by 15 more days in the year of general elections to legislative assemblies of states and Union territories (UTs) with a legislature.
There is no guarantee that if we speak in only Indian languages, all our faults will be washed away and India will shine. Why then do they bully and belittle the English-speaking? asks Shyam G Menon.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has written to the party's central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry seeking the publication of electoral rolls for the upcoming election to the post of All India Congress Committee president, sources said.
Rajiv Kumar, the 25th chief election commissioner of India, has demitted office after a nearly three-year tenure marked by both electoral successes and allegations of bias from opposition parties. Kumar oversaw the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, among other major elections. During his tenure, he implemented reforms across various aspects of the Election Commission's functioning, including structural, technological, capacity development, communication, international cooperation, and administration. However, he faced criticism from opposition parties and activists on several issues, including the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines, alleged fudging of voter data, and being "lenient" on the ruling BJP. While the Commission responded to the allegations, Kumar often defended himself and the poll authority through poetry. In his farewell address, Kumar expressed concerns about the timing of petitions raising doubts over poll processes and the impact of freebie promises on the fiscal health of the state. He also criticized the practice of showing early trends on counting day by news channels, calling it "nonsense". Kumar's tenure was marked by numerous controversies, with opposition parties and activists alleging bias and irregularities. While the Election Commission defended its actions, the allegations cast a shadow over his time in office.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Vikram Nath said the matter requires to be heard.
What India needs more than one simultaneous election is better governance both at the central and state level. Yes, we need reforms, but our priority should be to make elections less expensive, make it more democratic, do away with freebies which are actually bribes before elections, allow only those who are educated to contest, and bring in a bill to make it impossible for criminals to contest, advocates Ramesh Menon.
Tesla owner billionaire Elon Musk and Indian American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy in an op-ed provided an insight into their blueprint for an unprecedented government reform that includes mass federal job cuts and massive expense reduction.
Four-time Odisha MP Pinaki Misra's wedding to firebrand TMC MP Mahua Moitra in a quiet, intimate ceremony that chose privacy and tradition over fanfare, was a reflection of his personal style.
Given the possibilities that next year's assembly elections could throw up, Stalin told the state assembly that an interim report had to be submitted by January 2026. The outcomes may well find its way into the DMK's poll manifesto, thus seeking to keep the electoral focus still on the BJP-ruled Centre and Prime Minister Modi, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Among the major parties, out of the 25 BJP candidates, four, or 15 percent, have criminal cases against them, with two facing serious charges, as per the data of ADR.
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.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will consider whether the pleas challenging the validity of the electoral bond scheme for political funding of parties can be referred to a Constitution bench for an "authoritative pronouncement".
Singapore's long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP), led by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, has secured a landslide victory in the country's general election. The PAP won 87 of 97 seats, with voters endorsing the party's focus on stability and economic security amidst global uncertainties. Wong expressed gratitude for the strong mandate and vowed to tackle concerns about the cost of living and housing. The results mark a significant win for the PAP, which has been in power since Singapore's independence in 1965.
The opposition parties were demanding a division of votes as they had moved a motion to send the Bill to a select committee, which was rejected by voice vote.
'The most fundamental flaw with the electoral bond scheme is that it is designed to make anonymous donations.' 'It makes it easy for black money holders as well as corrupt corporates to donate money to the ruling party and ask for a quid pro quo without anybody getting any idea about it.'
The Supreme Court of India has asked petitioners in two Public Interest Litigations (PILs) to make representations to the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding their demand for uploading polling booth-wise voter turnout data on the ECI website. The PILs, filed by TMC MP Mahua Moitra and NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, seek a direction for the ECI to upload the data within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling in Lok Sabha and assembly elections. The ECI, represented by senior advocate Maninder Singh, expressed willingness to deliberate on the matter and suggested a meeting with the petitioners to address their concerns. The court has adjourned the hearing to the week of July 28.
The report is likely to recommend that India adopt the German model of 'constructive no-confidence' which stipulates that the unseating of a government must be immediately followed by the formation of a new one, which will serve out the remainder of the legislative term.
The data provided by the SBI shows that highest purchase of electoral bonds for the year 2019 was reported from Mumbai where the bonds worth Rs 495.6 crore were sold.
The bench said it would be difficult for the poll panel to mobilise manpower for uploading the voter turnout data on its website.
The "unknown" sources are income declared in the annual audit report by these parties but without giving the source of income, according to the ADR.
Electoral trust is a non-profit organisation formed in India for orderly receiving of contributions from corporate entities and individuals to political parties.
'But this Budget alone will not fix what ails the Indian economy.'
Sharma claimed he has received complaints that neither any virtual nor any physical meeting was held to finalise the electoral rolls, the sources said.
Whether AAP bounces back or fades into political oblivion will depend on its strategy in the coming months.
Chief Justice of India J S Khehar on Saturday criticised the electoral politics in the country, saying poll promises are "routinely unfulfilled", caste issues projected differently to get a majority and party manifestos do not have any linkage to socio-economic justice.
'If we truly wish to understand and apply Marx's insights today, we must reject the rigid dogmas that later 'Marxists' imposed in his name.'
The Congress president also announced that a compact task force will be set up to drive the process of internal reforms that are essential.
The Supreme Court of India has sought a response from the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding pleas seeking verification of burnt memory and symbol loading units in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The court directed the ECI to refrain from erasing or reloading data during the verification process and to explain the procedure adopted for verification. The bench also expressed concerns over the high cost of verification and directed the ECI to reduce the fee. The court's directive comes following its previous judgement where it allowed aggrieved candidates to seek verification of EVMs.
The principal opposition party though appeared content securing 99 of the 543 seats in the 2024 national elections as against its all-time low of 44 in 2014 and then 52 in 2019.
'Isn't it obvious? Do you have a doubt? There is so much data that shows that there is quid pro quo.' 'There are many instances of donations being given after the raids, donations being given before the award of a contract and many other permutations and combinations.'
'Not even a single rupee from the electoral bonds should be allowed to be used in the election.' 'If it is used in the election, it will taint India's electoral process itself.'
Thousands of protesters led by Canada-returned cleric Tahir ul-Qadri, rallied in Islamabad for the third day in a row on Wednesday, giving the government time till tonight to quit and dissolve the national and provincial assemblies to pave the way for electoral reforms.
The Supreme Court Wednesday flagged the issue of possible misuse of funds received through electoral bonds by political parties for illegal purposes like terrorism and asked the Centre whether there was any 'control' over how these funds were put to use.
The party, the sources said, has also approved 50 per cent representation to SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities at all levels of the organisation, as part of its social engineering efforts to win the confidence of the weaker and oppressed sections of society.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who has been part of several landmark Supreme Court judgements such as scrapping the electoral bonds scheme and upholding abrogation of Article 370, will be sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India on Monday.
While the BJP has assured voters that these benefits will not be discontinued, AAP leaders have questioned the party's long-term commitment.
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, alleged that the scheme is a means for channelising unaccounted black money in favour of the ruing party.
The BJP declared a total income of Rs 1917.12 crore during 2021-22 and spent Rs 854.467 crore or 44.57 per cent of it.
