EC probing if AAP made spam calls to public for votes

Delhi CEO office did not share the status of the report but said that the “directions of the court shall be complied with.”

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched an inquiry into allegations that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made spam calls soliciting votes for the February 5 Delhi Assembly elections, the Delhi high court was informed on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the AAP refuted the allegations, and in turn alleged that opposition leaders were distributing money to people ahead of elections. (HT Archive)

The probe findings are expected later on Wednesday, ECI counsel Siddhant Kumar told a bench of chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Tushar Rao Gedela. Kumar said the chief election officer had been directed to submit a report, following which appropriate action, including criminal prosecution, could be initiated.

When asked, an official in Delhi CEO office did not share the status of the report but said that the “directions of the court shall be complied with.”

Meanwhile, the AAP refuted the allegations, and in turn alleged that opposition leaders were distributing money to people ahead of elections.

The ECI’s probe follows a plea by advocate Dhrone Diwan in the high court, who sought action against the AAP, arguing that dissemination of such malicious materials including spam calls was not only instilling fear in people’s minds but also vitiating free and fair elections. The court disposed of the petition, ordering that the poll panel take action it seems necessary after its inquiry.

The petition claimed the calls coerced people to vote for the AAP by threatening withdrawal of freebies, preventing the public from choosing representatives democratically.

To be sure, while the petition has accused the AAP, citizens have reported receiving calls eliciting votes for other parties as well.

“The dissemination of such vilified material has prejudiced not only the rights of political parties but has also prejudiced the right of the public barring them to choose their representative in the most democratic form,” the petition stated.

“This sort of dissemination of vilified material has breached the fundamental right guaranteed under Article 14 by breaching the equality, which our Constitution offers to each and every individual. Prejudicing the rights of each citizen by creating biasness has breached the very trite law of equality,” it added.

Taking note of Article 324 of the Constitution, which grants ECI plenary power to ensure conduct of free and fair elections, the court permitted the poll body to proceed with its inquiry and take appropriate action against the AAP based on the findings.

“So far as the conduct of elections to the legislative assembly concern, it is the primary constitutional duty cast upon the ECI under Article 324 wherein it has been vested with plenary powers to take every step for ensuring free and fair elections while supervising the conduct of elections,” the court said in its order.

“We thus direct that based on the inquiry report to be submitted by the chief electoral officer, appropriate action which may be warranted shall be taken by the ECI or competent authority,” the bench added.

While Diwan had also sought postponement of elections, the court turned down this request. “As regards the certain other prayers made in the petition, such as postponing the election etc, such prayers in the midst of election can be granted as no such ground is available in the writ for grant of such prayer,” the court said.

The court disposed of the plea while directing the ECI to take appropriate action based on the CEO’s inquiry report. It expressed “hope and trust that action will be taken for ensuring that political parties and the candidates do not use any vitiating material during their election campaign.”

Denying the allegations, the AAP said that the case does not stand in court as they are a “staunchly honest party”. In turn, it accused opposition leaders of distributing goods and money to people.

“There must be investigations against Parvesh Verma too—how he distributed black money, amassed corrupt money, distributed sarees and spectacles, and orchestrated an attack on Arvind Kejriwal through wanted criminals and then supported such criminals. (Investigation should also be conducted) How Rohingya were settled by (Union minister) Hardeep Puri in Delhi or how the BJP painted Punjabis as a threat to national security,” it said.