E-Paper
Ban on caste-based rallies: Allahabad HC seeks ECI’s reply
The court also directed the petitioner to file a fresh affidavit bringing on record data pertaining to the holding of such rallies in last 10 years
The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has sought a reply from the Election commission of India (ECI) by August 29, 2024, on a plea related to the ban on caste-based rallies.
The court directed the senior counsel for the ECI to tell the court on the next date as to what happens if a political party or a candidate in an election is found to be violating the model code of conduct with regard to the prohibition of holding caste based political rallies.
What action the ECI can take in this regard, the court asked. The court also directed the petitioner to file a fresh affidavit bringing on record fresh data pertaining to the holding of such rallies by political parties during the last 10 years as the writ petition was filed in 2013.
The order was passed by a division bench comprising Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Om Prakash Shukla on August 7, 2024, in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by a local lawyer ML Yadav. The petitioner sought directives from the court to the ECI to derecognise political parties that hold caste-based rallies.
Earlier in April, the court had issued fresh notice to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress.
The court had also granted last opportunity to the counsel of the Union of India to file the reply, if any, as the plea has been pending since 2013 and the Centre has not filed its reply till date.
