ECI Responsible For 2nd COVID-19 Wave, Officers Should Probably Be Booked For Murder: HC
Mumbai: The Madras High Court on Monday slammed the Election Commission of India for allowing political rallies amid a pandemic of the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country. The court said that the poll body is to be held “singularly responsible” for the Covid-19 second wave, that the country is currently struggling with.
Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee even said that Election Commission officials should probably be “booked on murder charges” for allowing political rallies during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The first bench of Chief Justice Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy in the Madras High Court made these scathing remarks while hearing a petition to ensure facilities during voting in the Karur constituency of Tamil Nadu.
“Were you on any other planet when the election rallies were held?” The Chief Justice asked the ECI counsel in view of the growing COVID-19 cases. The bench said that despite the court orders, the Election Commission failed to implement COVID-appropriate protocol during election rallies organized by political parties. Face masks or sanitisers were not used nor social distance was maintained during the election campaign in court.
The Madras High Court directed the Election Commission to submit it by 30 April, to ensure that the COVID-19 protocols are followed on May 2, the day when votes are counted. The Election Commission and Tamil Nadu’s chief electoral officer Thiru. Satyabrata Sahoo should consult the Health Secretary to prepare a roadmap on the due date. Failing to do so will result in the court stopping the counting of votes to be held on May 2, with the bench warning that “the situation is now of survival and safety, everything else comes forward.”
Tamil Nadu on Sunday observed a complete clock down, the first during the current wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with the operation of only essential services and roads were deserted as people remained indoors.
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