The Election Commission of India does not have any jurisdiction over the rights of undertrials, the Delhi High Court recently held while dismissing a public interest litigation that sought a mechanism for arrested politicians or candidates to campaign for elections, reported Live Law on Friday.
The petition was dismissed on Wednesday by a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora. A detailed order was made available only on Thursday.
The petition was filed by a final-year law student, Amarjeet Gupta, who was seeking directions to the Election Commission for framing guidelines to allow undertrial leaders or candidates to campaign for elections virtually.
The petitioner was also seeking directions to the Union government to inform the poll panel about the arrest of a political party leader or a candidate immediately when the Model Code of Conduct comes into effect.
The Model Code of Conduct is a set of rules issued by the Election Commission that political parties, leaders and governments are mandated to follow in the run-up to an election.
Without naming Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in the liquor policy case, Gupta said he was aggrieved by the action against the Aam Aadmi Party chief, reported Bar and Bench.
The High Court held that the petition “effectively challenges” the arrest of Kejriwal and was “not maintainable as the said person is in judicial custody in pursuance to the judicial orders, which are not a subject matter of the present petition”.
The bench also said that the Aam Aadmi Party leader has the means and wherewithal to approach the court as he had done before.
As for a policy that would allow undertrials to campaign from prison, the court said that the petition was ignorant of the existing rules in the jail manuals of states, which govern the rights of undertrial prisoners. “Even otherwise, the ECI [Election Commission of India] does not have any jurisdiction with respect to the rights of undertrials, who are in judicial custody,” the court said.
The bench also remarked that the petitioner’s request, that the Centre provide information on the arrest of a political party leader or a candidate to the Election Commission, “belies the petitioner’s legal understanding”.
“The petition has been filed in ignorance of the doctrine of separation of powers and seeks directions which are legislative in nature and therefore, outside of power of judicial review,” said the bench.
The court labelled the petition as “frivolous” and said that it was inclined to impose a fine on the plaintiff. “However, learned counsel for the petitioner has prayed that since the Petitioner is a student the costs be exempted,” the court said.
On April 22, the High Court had rejected a public interest litigation seeking “extraordinary interim bail” for Kejriwal and imposed a fine of Rs 75,000 on the petitioner. The petition was filed by a fourth-year law student under the name “We the people of India”.
The Delhi chief minister is currently lodged in Tihar Jail in the national capital.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!