In a significant order weeks before the elections, the Supreme Court has once again refused to order a stay on the law to appoint election commissioners, stating that doing so at this stage would be “creating chaos”.

While making the observations during a hearing on Thursday, the court also noted that there are no allegations against the newly appointed election commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, who were picked after changes were made to the selection panel under the new law.

The bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said, “You can’t say the Election Commission is under the thumb of the Executive.” 

Pointing out to the petitioners that it cannot be presumed that the law enacted by the Centre is wrong, the bench added, “There are no allegations against the persons who have been appointed… Elections are around the corner. Balance of convenience is very important.” 

The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, had been passed by the Parliament last year and subsequently got the President’s assent. 

The new law replaced the Chief Justice of India on a committee to pick election commissioners with a Union Cabinet minister. The committee now has the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet minister and the Leader of the Opposition, raising concerns over its impartiality. 

After Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu were picked by the panel last week, Congress’ leader in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had claimed he had been given 212 names for scrutiny the night before, and a shortlist of six names just before the meeting. 

The panel had PM Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Mr Chowdhury. The senior Congress leader had said,  “The Chief Justice of India should have been on this committee,” adding that the new law had reduced the meeting to a “formality”.

‘Could Have Given More Time’

Emphasising that the meeting had been rescheduled from March 15 – when the Supreme Court was supposed to hear a related matter – to March 14, advocate Prashant Bhushan, who was appearing for the petitioners, pointed to Mr Chowdhury’s comments and said the shortlist had been sought on March 12, but it had not been given. 

Mr Bhushan then said that the point being raised by the petitioners was on the procedure of selection and the independence of the Commission. 

“They have a point there…you have to give opportunity to examine names,” the bench said, adding that this could have been avoided by giving 2-3 days to the members to study the list. 
 

Levelling a serious allegation against the government weeks before the Lok Sabha election, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has said the Prime Minister has made a systematic effort to cripple the party financially. The same charge was made by senior leader Rahul Gandhi as well.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Mrs Gandhi said, “The issue we are taking up today is extremely serious. This issue affects not just the Indian National Congress, but our democracy itself, most fundamentally.  A systematic effort is underway by the Prime Minister to cripple the Indian National Congress financially. Funds collected from the public are being frozen and money from our accounts is being taken away forcibly.”

The former Congress president’s statement was a reference to the party’s claim last month that the Income Tax Department had frozen Rs 115 crore in its bank accounts following a tax demand of Rs 210 crore as dues and penalty for the financial year 2018-19.

Days later, Congress leader Ajay Maken alleged that Rs 65 crore had been withdrawn by the department from three of the party’s accounts even though a petition against the claim was being heard by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. Earlier this month, the tribunal had refused to accept the party’s petition to stop the department’s action against its bank accounts. 

Mrs Gandhi said, “However, even under these most challenging circumstances, we are doing our very best to maintain the effectiveness of our election campaign. On the one hand there is the electoral bond issue, which has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The electoral bonds have benefited, as everyone knows, the BJP hugely, massively. 

“On the other hand, the finances of the principal opposition party, are under a determined assault. This, we all believe is unprecedented and undemocratic,” she added. 

During Thursday’s press conference, Mr Maken said in Hindi that the “assault” on Congress’ bank accounts was an attack on democracy. “If the principal opposition party is completely financially crippled and can’t spend on publicity, on its campaign and can’t give money to its candidates, then why are the elections being held,” he asked. 

Mr Maken said the Congress has not been able to use Rs 285 crore lying in its accounts and had also received a new notice last week pertaining to the year 1994-95. “At this rate, they will go back to Mahatma Gandhi’s time, when Jamnalal Bajaj was the treasurer, and cull out something to send us a notice about and freeze our accounts before the elections.”

A day after a double murder sparked tension in Uttar Pradesh’s Budaun, the accused’s brother was seen claiming innocence in a viral video before surrendering last night.

Sajid, who ran a barber shop near the victims’ house, killed two children and injured their third sibling on Tuesday, in a gruesome murder for which the motive remains unclear. He attacked cops while fleeing and was shot dead in an encounter.

His brother Javed, also named as an accused, had gone missing after the incident. In a video before his arrest, Javed says he had reached Budaun after being informed about the incident but seeing an angry mob in the area he fled to Delhi.

Read | A No-Encounter Request For UP Cops, From Father Of 2 Boys Killed By Barber

He was caught by the locals after he reached Bareilly to surrender. They later handed him over to the cops.

“From Delhi, I came to Bareilly to surrender. I have call recordings of people informing me that my brother has done something. He was my elder brother, he had done it, I didn’t do anything. Please hand me over to the cops,” he is heard saying in the video.

The police today confirmed the arrest of Javed and are bringing him to Budaun for questioning.

Read | 23 Stab Wounds: Post-Mortem Report In UP Double Murder Case

“Sajid’s brother Javed, the second accused in the murder case, surrendered before cops in Bareilly and also made a viral video. Our team is now bringing him for questioning,” said Alok Priyadarshi, Senior Superintendent of Police, Budaun.

The two children, Aayush and Ahaan, suffered 23 wounds on their back, chest, and legs, the autopsy revealed today. Their third sibling, who survived the attack, had minor injuries.

Their father, Vinod, has urged the cops not to kill Javed in an encounter and said, “If Javed is killed in an encounter, the motive behind the murders will not be revealed. There should be a probe into why the children were killed.”