The Supreme Court will hear the BJP’s plea on Monday against the Calcutta High Court’s order on advertisements during elections

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a writ petition filed by the BJP challenging a Calcutta High Court order declining to interfere with a single-judge judgement restraining the BJP from publishing advertisements allegedly in “violation” of the Model Code of Conduct during the Lok Sabha elections.

According to the list of cases uploaded on the Supreme Court website on May 27, a vacation bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and KV Viswanathan will hear the case.

On May 22, a division bench of the High Court expressed its unwillingness to entertain the appeal against the interim order passed by the single-judge bench.

On May 20, a single-judge bench had restrained the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from publishing advertisements in violation of the Mobile Advertisements Act, effective till June 4, the day when the Lok Sabha election results are announced.

The court also restrained the Trinamool Party from publishing the advertisement mentioned in the petition by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal, which claimed that unsubstantiated allegations had been made against the Trinamool Party and its workers.

The high court division bench said the BJP can approach the single judge to review, modify or quash the order.

The BJP had moved the division bench, claiming that the single-judge bench had passed the order without any hearing.

The BJP, in its petition filed in the apex court, said the division bench of the high court should have taken into account that the party was not heard and that an ex parte mandatory injunction was granted by a single judge at the interim stage.

“It is worth emphasising that such interim relief granted by the High Court goes beyond the claim sought by the All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC/respondent 1) which was confined to granting an interim order directing the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take steps in accordance with law,” the court said.

The plea claimed that the single judge “erred in granting an interim injunction” on the grounds that the political party had allegedly violated the Population and Criminal Procedure Code without considering that the matter was awaiting a decision by the Election Commission, which, under Articles 324 and 329 of the Constitution, has the power to take appropriate action against any political party that violates the Population and Criminal Procedure Code.

The TMC is said to be unhappy with the publication of certain advertisements which are allegedly against the spirit of the MCC and has approached the EC for help.

The plea stated that based on the TMC’s complaint, the Election Commission issued a show-cause notice on May 18 directing the BJP to file its reply by May 21.

“The petition was filed in the high court on May 20, 2024. Though the ECI had taken up the case and issued a notice of the petition, the bench passed an interim order in the nature of a final order restraining the petitioner (BJP) from continuing to publish the allegedly illegal advertisements till June 4, 2024 or further order,” the court said.

It also added that the division bench should have taken into account that the matter was being heard by a single judge in the absence of the BJP and that the order would have a “significant impact on its ability to canvass votes during the elections”.

The plea seeks ex parte stay of the interim order dated May 20 and the order passed by the high court on May 22 as an interim relief.

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(This article has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from United News Agency – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf）