The Evening Wrap: Delhi police summons Telangana CM Revanth Reddy in Amit Shah fake video case

Delhi Police has asked Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to join the probe on May 1 in connection with Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s doctored video being circulated on social media, official sources said on April 29. According to sources, the police served notices to five people, including Reddy, who posted the video on X. Reddy, who is also the Telangana Congress chief, has been asked to appear with his mobile phone allegedly used for posting the fake video on X, according to sources. The Special Cell of the Delhi Police had on Sunday registered an FIR after the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), which is under the Ministry of Home Affairs, filed a complaint about the doctored video of Shah where his statements indicating a commitment to abolish quota for Muslims on religious ground in Telangana were changed to make it seem that he was advocating scrapping all reservations. The case was registered under various sections of the IPC and the IT Act, they said. The sources in the Special Cell said that now arrests are likely to follow across the country. Meanwhile, declaring that he would not be scared by the notices, Revanth Reddy said it was the turn of Delhi Police to target the political opponents after the ED, CBI and Income-Tax. Reddy, who was addressing a Congress public meeting in Sedan in Karnataka when the notices were served on him at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad, the headquarters of the Telangana Congress, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using Delhi police to win elections. “No one will be scared here. We will reply to it. In the coming elections, we will defeat Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in Telangana and Karnataka because Rahul Gandhi took up padayatra from Kashmir to Kanyakumari,” said Revanth Reddy. He exuded confidence that Congress will form Government in Centre and Maharashtra too. Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said that the Chief Minister was in Karnataka in an election campaign and they would not be able to comment on whether he would appear for investigation on May 1 as sought by the Delhi Police. “We will respond once the Chief Minister returns,” the source said. Meanwhile, several Congress leaders condemned the notices to the CM and said this intimidation by the BJP government will not be tolerated by the Telangana people. They described the notices as an assault on Telangana people. Mere non-cooperation with ED not a ground for arrest, Arvind Kejriwal tells Supreme Court Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal put up a spirited stand in the Supreme Court on April 29 against his arrest in the liquor policy case, saying mere non-cooperation with the ED cannot be a ground for his incarceration by the central agency. “My arrest came after the declaration of the Model Code of Conduct. What was imminent for my arrest? Was I a hardened criminal or a terrorist who would run away… So, did you leave a guilty Chief Minister to roam free all these years?” senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, submitted before a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta. Kejriwal contended he had a right to not give an incriminating statement against himself to the ED. He invoked his fundamental right against self-incrimination under Article 20, the right to due procedure and liberty (Article 21) of the Constitution and even referred to the Magna Carta. “An accused can say ‘to hell with you, I am not giving a statement’. I believe I have a right to not go [to the ED office in response to summons], I have a right to not speak against myself,” Singhvi asked. He was responding to the ED’s stand that the Chief Minister did not respond to nine consecutive summons before his arrest finally on March 21. Justice Khanna, at one point, asked whether Kejriwal had applied for bail in the trial court as yet. The judge clarified that he was asking “out of curiosity”. Kejriwal’s petition, after all, was against both his arrest and remand. Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, for ED, pointed out that the Chief Minister had not challenged subsequent remands. He had been remanded five times so far. The first two times from March 22 to April 1 was in ED custody. The remaining three times in judicial custody. He is currently in judicial custody till May 7. “I am not saying Chief Minister has immunity, but does he have lesser rights?” Singhvi queried in a retort to the ED’s affidavit that “criminal” politicians did not have immunity from arrest, especially to campaign for Lok Sabha elections. Justice Khanna wondered if Singhvi was saying that an arresting authority ought to objectively weigh factors both for and against a person before arrest. The power to arrest did not necessarily mean an obligation to arrest, Singhvi replied. “The idea is that an innocent should not be punished even at the cost of letting a 100 guilty go free,” he said. The ED’s power to summon under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) did not inherently include the power to arrest under Section 19 of the law, Singhvi noted. He said arrest under Section 19 of the Act should be based on material in the possession of the ED which gave it reason to believe that the person was guilty of an offence punishable under the PMLA. “Can the ED say, ‘you did not cooperate and so I will arrest you? Can the ED say ‘you did not come and that by itself is ground for holding you guilty and arresting you under Section 19?’” Singhvi asked the court. Kejriwal said his name did not figure in the First Information Report, the Enforcement Case Information Report, the prosecution complaints, the statements of the star witnesses. Multiple chargesheets were filed by the CBI in the case. There was no new material collected against him over the span of two years since August 2022, when the FIR was filed. He said not all statements by “star witnesses” name him. Sarath Reddy did not name him in his first nine statements. He later got bail and bought electoral bonds. Others had family members join the ruling party at the Centre. Their statements should have been corroborated in compliance with a basic principle of criminal law. Incidentally, the same statements collected from December 2022 to July 2023 were used against Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, indicating that the ED had nothing new to show. “I was arrested the day I was unable to get interim protection from the Delhi High Court. You [ED] came to my house and spent 10 hours then arrested me. The ground for arrest should be positive and inculpatory, not because I was unable to get protection or I did not cooperate. Where is the ‘reason to believe’, where is the material in your [ED] possession?” Singhvi challenged. Arguments would continue on April 30. JD(S) to suspend Prajwal Revanna facing probe over alleged sexual harrasment of women: Kumaraswamy JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy on April 29 said the party has decided to suspend Prajwal Revanna, his nephew and Hassan MP who is a Lok Sabha poll candidate in the current elections, over allegations of his sexual abuse of several women. The former Chief Minister also sought to distance JD(S)‘s alliance partner BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the case, amid attacks by the ruling Congress seeking their response on the issue. Prajwal is the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate for the Lok Sabha election from Hassan constituency, which went to the polls on Friday. “A decision was already made. Tomorrow it is to be recommended at the core committee meeting in Hubballi. Because he [Prajwal] is a Member of Parliament, it has to be done from Delhi. So I had requested Deve Gowda (JD(S) National President and former PM). Neither he [Gowda] nor I were aware of this issue,” Kumaraswamy claimed. Speaking to reporters here, the JD(S) State chief said, “Some issues that have come out, on the basis of that it has been decided yesterday itself to suspend [him]. But many were in a hurry.” The 33-year-old Prajwal Revanna is the son of H D Revanna, former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda’s elder son who is an MLA and former minister. Many explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna sexually abusing several women started making the rounds in Hassan in recent days. The government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe alleged sexual exploitation by the MP. Kumaraswamy said that in his opinion, along with the SIT investigating the sexual abuse allegations against Prajwal Revanna, what also needs to be inquired into is where the pen-drives (containing alleged explicit video clips) were created and who circulated it in large numbers. “So far, there are no direct allegations against Prajwal Revanna. If the charges are true...punishment should happen in accordance with law. There is no compromise. If Prajwal Revanna is wrong, our family is in agreement for action to be taken against him,” he said. Reacting to Congress leaders trying to target BJP and PM Modi on the issue, Kumaraswamy said, “Did Modi come for Prajwal Revanna’s campaigning? What does Modi have to do with this case? What does the BJP have to do with this? Why link this with them? What does Deve Gowda or Kumaraswamy have to do with this?” Earlier in the day, Kumaraswamy said there is no question of defending Prajwal Revanna and that the party would take “merciless action” if the SIT probe proves the charges against the MP. Asked about Prajwal’s whereabouts, Kumaraswamy said, “What should I say, if you ask me? Will he ask me and go anywhere...They, the government, will take action.” To a question whether he had no prior information about what was happening, he claimed, “Where did we know about the matter? They [Revanna family] are separate. If it had come to our notice we could have taken action and stopped this embarrassment from happening. This matter is about an individual’s background. Can we watch where he goes or comes every day? Is it in our hands?” Stating that the development will have no impact on the results, Kumaraswamy said, “In Hassan the NDA candidate will win; there is no doubt about it.” He further said, “He [Prajwal] will win with a good margin. But the developments that have taken place in the last few days have led to State-wide discussion. Who released [the video clippings], a few days ago, what was the reason for releasing it? An old subject has been raised now, why didn’t they raise the issue earlier but just days ahead of the election?” Delhi HC dismisses plea for 6 years ban on PM Modi from election The Delhi High Court on April 28 dismissed a petition seeking to order the Election Commission of India (ECI) to act against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly violating the model code of conduct (MCC) by allegedly seeking votes for the upcoming Lok Sabha election “in the name of god and place of worship”. Justice Sachin Datta said the present petition filed by Mr Anand S. Jondhale, an advocate, is “thoroughly misconceived for multiple reasons”. The judge said the poll panel is presently seized of a complaint filed by Jondhale against Modi. “Once the petitioner [Mr Jondhale] has submitted his complaint on April 10 at the ECI, there is no occasion for the petitioner to approach the court prior to the disposal of his complaint by the ECI,” the court said. Jondhale had also sought a direction to the ECI to disqualify Modi from elections for six years under the Representation of Peoples Act. His plea is premised on the allegation that during a speech delivered by the Prime Minister at Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh on April 9, an appeal was made to the voters to vote for his party “in the name of Hindu deities and places of worship and also in the name of Sikh deities and Sikh places of worship”. The high court, however, said, “the petitioner presupposes that there has been a violation of model code of conduct...this pre-supposition is completely unjustified”. “It is also not permissible for the court to direct the ECI to take a particular view on the petitioner’s complaint or any other complaint for that matter. The ECI is obliged to take an independent view on petitioner’s complaint,” the judge added. During the brief hearing, ECI’s counsel submitted that the complaint made by Jondhale will be duly processed and appropriate orders will be passed. Following this, the high court dismissed the plea, saying, “if the petitioner is aggrieved by the ECI’s order, it can take appropriate legal remedies”. Earlier this month, Jondhale had complained to the poll panel against Prime Minister Modi regarding the same issue. “But till date no action has been taken by the Respondent No.1. [ECI],” his petition had stated. “Respondent No.2 [Prime Minister Modi] said that he has constructed the Ram Temple. Respondent No.2 also stated that he developed Kartarpur Sahib Corridor and removed GST from material used in Langars served in Gurudwaras. The Respondent No.2 also said that he had brought back the copies of Guru Granth Sahib from Afghanistan,” the plea stated. Jondhale further claimed that Prime Minister Modi “not only sought votes in the name of Hindu and Sikh Deities and their Places of Worship, but also made comments against opposite political parties as favouring Muslims”. “Thus, the Respondent No.2 has violated the Model Code of Conduct...which states that no Party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes or communities, religious or linguistic,” the plea said. Supreme Court notice on plea to allow people who have left Islam to inherit under secular rather than sharia law The Supreme Court on April 29 sought the Union Government’s response to a petition filed by a Kerala-based woman, who said she, though born a Muslim, is now a non-believer, and should be governed by the secular statutes rather than the Sharia law. Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, heading a three-judge Bench, said P.M. Safiya, a resident of Alapuzha district and represented by advocte Prashant Padmanabhan, has raised an “important issue”. The court issued formal notices to the Union Government and the State of Kerala. The case was posted for detailed hearing in July. Padmanabhan submitted that the Supreme Court has already underscored that the “fundamental postulate of secularism which treats all religions on an even platform and allows to each individual the fullest liberty to believe or not to believe”. To realise the full meaning of what the Supreme Court intended, Padmanabhan submitted that a person who leaves her faith should not incur any disability or a disqualification in matters of inheritance or other important civil rights. “Persons who do not want to be governed by the Muslim Personal Law must be allowed to be governed by the secular law of the country, viz, the Indian Succession Act, 1925 both in the case of intestate and testamentary succession,” the petition said. Safiya, who is general secretary of ‘Ex-Muslims of Kerala’, said that a person who leaves her faith in Islam, will be ousted from her community and is not entitled for any inheritance right in her parental property. “The petitioner wishes to get a declaration that she shall not be governed by Muslim Personal Law for any of the matters listed in Sections 2 or 3 of the Muslim Personal Law [Shariat] Application Act, 1937, but there is no provision either in the Act or in the Rules wherein she can obtain such a certificate. There is a clear vacuum in the statute which can be plugged by judicial interpretation,” the petition noted. It noted that the legal vacuum would leave the petitioner with no recourse to succeed to her parental property even if she officially got a no-religion, no-caste certificate from an authority. This state of affairs was a direct violation of the fundamental right to believe (or not to believe) in a religion under Article 25 of the Constitution, Padmanabhan argued. Poll roundup: Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, Akshay Kanti Bam has withdrawn his nomination from the poll race on April 29. An official at the State Election Commission confirmed that Mr. Bam has withdrawn his candidature. Mr. Patwari, as per a video that surfaced online, went to the Returning Officer’s office with BJP MLA Ramesh Mendola and withdrew his candidature. Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and state cabinet minister Kailash Vijayvargiya in a post on X said Mr. Bam was welcome to join the BJP. The Congress on April 29 announced four more Lok Sabha candidates from Punjab, fielding PCC chief Amarinder Singh Brar (Raja Warring) from Ludhiana and party general secretary Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa from Gurdaspur. The party has fielded former MP Vijay Inder Singla from Anandpur Sahib and Kulbir Singh Zira from Khadoor Sahib, replacing sitting MP Jasbir Singh Gill. Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib Manish Tewari has been shifted to Chandigarh Lok Sabha constituency while Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu has joined the BJP. The voter turnout in the April 26 Lok Sabha elections in Kerala was updated to 71.27% on April 29. Of the total 2,77,49,158 voters in Kerala, 1,97,77,478 exercised their franchise. In all, 1,03,02,238 women, 94,75,090 men and 150 transgender voters cast their votes on April 26, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO – Kerala) Sanjay Kaul said. In Brief:Hemant Soren bail plea | Supreme Court issues notice to the ED; to consider his plea next week The Supreme Court on April 29 issued a notice to the Directorate of Enforcement on former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s plea for interim bail. A Bench, headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, posted the case for the week commencing on May 6. Meanwhile, the Bench, also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, gave the Jharkhand High Court liberty to pronounce judgment on Soren’s petition challenging his arrest by the ED in January. Israel concerned about possible ICC arrest warrants as pressure mounts over war in Gaza Israeli officials on April 29 appeared to be increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court may issue arrest warrants against the country’s leaders, as international pressure mounts over its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight and into Monday killed at least 22 people, including six women and five children, one of whom was just 5 days old, according to hospital records and an Associated Press reporter. The ICC launched a probe three years ago into possible war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian militants going back to the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, but it has given no indication such warrants are imminent. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 29 April 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Amit Shah’s doctored video case: Delhi police asks Telangana CM Revanth Reddy to join probe; ‘Not scared’, says Reddy [Delhi Police has asked Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to join the probe on May 1 in connection with Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s doctored video]( being circulated on social media, official sources said on April 29. According to sources, the police served notices to five people, including Reddy, who posted the video on X. Reddy, who is also the Telangana Congress chief, has been asked to appear with his mobile phone allegedly used for posting the fake video on X, according to sources. The Special Cell of the Delhi Police had on Sunday registered an FIR after the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), which is under the Ministry of Home Affairs, filed a complaint about the doctored video of Shah where his statements indicating a commitment to abolish quota for Muslims on religious ground in Telangana were changed to make it seem that he was advocating scrapping all reservations. The case was registered under various sections of the IPC and the IT Act, they said. The sources in the Special Cell said that now arrests are likely to follow across the country. Meanwhile, [declaring that he would not be scared by the notices, Revanth Reddy said it was the turn of Delhi Police to target the political opponents]( after the ED, CBI and Income-Tax. Reddy, who was addressing a Congress public meeting in Sedan in Karnataka when the notices were served on him at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad, the headquarters of the Telangana Congress, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using Delhi police to win elections. “No one will be scared here. We will reply to it. In the coming elections, we will defeat Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in Telangana and Karnataka because Rahul Gandhi took up padayatra from Kashmir to Kanyakumari,” said Revanth Reddy. He exuded confidence that Congress will form Government in Centre and Maharashtra too. Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said that the Chief Minister was in Karnataka in an election campaign and they would not be able to comment on whether he would appear for investigation on May 1 as sought by the Delhi Police. “We will respond once the Chief Minister returns,” the source said. Meanwhile, several Congress leaders condemned the notices to the CM and said this intimidation by the BJP government will not be tolerated by the Telangana people. They described the notices as an assault on Telangana people. Mere non-cooperation with ED not a ground for arrest, Arvind Kejriwal tells Supreme Court [Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal put up a spirited stand in the Supreme Court on April 29 against his arrest in the liquor policy case, saying mere non-cooperation with the ED cannot be a ground for his incarceration by the central agency.]( “My arrest came after the declaration of the Model Code of Conduct. What was imminent for my arrest? Was I a hardened criminal or a terrorist who would run away… So, did you leave a guilty Chief Minister to roam free all these years?” senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, submitted before a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta. [Kejriwal contended he had a right to not give an incriminating statement against himself to the ED](. He invoked his fundamental right against self-incrimination under Article 20, the right to due procedure and liberty (Article 21) of the Constitution and even referred to the Magna Carta. “An accused can say ‘to hell with you, I am not giving a statement’. I believe I have a right to not go [to the ED office in response to summons], I have a right to not speak against myself,” Singhvi asked. He was responding to the ED’s stand that the Chief Minister did not respond to nine consecutive summons before his arrest finally on March 21. Justice Khanna, at one point, asked whether Kejriwal had applied for bail in the trial court as yet. The judge clarified that he was asking “out of curiosity”. Kejriwal’s petition, after all, was against both his arrest and remand. Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, for ED, pointed out that the Chief Minister had not challenged subsequent remands. He had been remanded five times so far. The first two times from March 22 to April 1 was in ED custody. The remaining three times in judicial custody. He is currently in judicial custody till May 7. “I am not saying Chief Minister has immunity, but does he have lesser rights?” Singhvi queried in a retort to the ED’s affidavit that “criminal” politicians did not have immunity from arrest, especially to campaign for Lok Sabha elections. Justice Khanna wondered if Singhvi was saying that an arresting authority ought to objectively weigh factors both for and against a person before arrest. The power to arrest did not necessarily mean an obligation to arrest, Singhvi replied. “The idea is that an innocent should not be punished even at the cost of letting a 100 guilty go free,” he said. The ED’s power to summon under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) did not inherently include the power to arrest under Section 19 of the law, Singhvi noted. He said arrest under Section 19 of the Act should be based on material in the possession of the ED which gave it reason to believe that the person was guilty of an offence punishable under the PMLA. “Can the ED say, ‘you did not cooperate and so I will arrest you? Can the ED say ‘you did not come and that by itself is ground for holding you guilty and arresting you under Section 19?’” Singhvi asked the court. Kejriwal said his name did not figure in the First Information Report, the Enforcement Case Information Report, the prosecution complaints, the statements of the star witnesses. Multiple chargesheets were filed by the CBI in the case. There was no new material collected against him over the span of two years since August 2022, when the FIR was filed. He said not all statements by “star witnesses” name him. Sarath Reddy did not name him in his first nine statements. He later got bail and bought electoral bonds. Others had family members join the ruling party at the Centre. Their statements should have been corroborated in compliance with a basic principle of criminal law. Incidentally, the same statements collected from December 2022 to July 2023 were used against Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, indicating that the ED had nothing new to show. “I was arrested the day I was unable to get interim protection from the Delhi High Court. You [ED] came to my house and spent 10 hours then arrested me. The ground for arrest should be positive and inculpatory, not because I was unable to get protection or I did not cooperate. Where is the ‘reason to believe’, where is the material in your [ED] possession?” Singhvi challenged. Arguments would continue on April 30. JD(S) to suspend Prajwal Revanna facing probe over alleged sexual harrasment of women: Kumaraswamy [JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy on April 29 said the party has decided to suspend Prajwal Revanna]( his nephew and Hassan MP who is a Lok Sabha poll candidate in the current elections, over allegations of his sexual abuse of several women. The former Chief Minister also sought to distance JD(S)‘s alliance partner BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the case, amid attacks by the ruling Congress seeking their response on the issue. Prajwal is the BJP-JD(S) alliance candidate for the Lok Sabha election from Hassan constituency, which went to the polls on Friday. “A decision was already made. Tomorrow it is to be recommended at the core committee meeting in Hubballi. Because he [Prajwal] is a Member of Parliament, it has to be done from Delhi. So I had requested Deve Gowda (JD(S) National President and former PM). Neither he [Gowda] nor I were aware of this issue,” Kumaraswamy claimed. Speaking to reporters here, the JD(S) State chief said, “Some issues that have come out, on the basis of that it has been decided yesterday itself to suspend [him]. But many were in a hurry.” The 33-year-old Prajwal Revanna is the son of H D Revanna, former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H.D. Deve Gowda’s elder son who is an MLA and former minister. Many explicit video clips allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna sexually abusing several women started making the rounds in Hassan in recent days. The government has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe alleged sexual exploitation by the MP. Kumaraswamy said that in his opinion, along with the SIT investigating the sexual abuse allegations against Prajwal Revanna, what also needs to be inquired into is where the pen-drives (containing alleged explicit video clips) were created and who circulated it in large numbers. “So far, there are no direct allegations against Prajwal Revanna. If the charges are true...punishment should happen in accordance with law. There is no compromise. If Prajwal Revanna is wrong, our family is in agreement for action to be taken against him,” he said. Reacting to Congress leaders trying to target BJP and PM Modi on the issue, Kumaraswamy said, “Did Modi come for Prajwal Revanna’s campaigning? What does Modi have to do with this case? What does the BJP have to do with this? Why link this with them? What does Deve Gowda or Kumaraswamy have to do with this?” Earlier in the day, Kumaraswamy said there is no question of defending Prajwal Revanna and that the party would take “merciless action” if the SIT probe proves the charges against the MP. Asked about Prajwal’s whereabouts, Kumaraswamy said, “What should I say, if you ask me? Will he ask me and go anywhere...They, the government, will take action.” To a question whether he had no prior information about what was happening, he claimed, “Where did we know about the matter? They [Revanna family] are separate. If it had come to our notice we could have taken action and stopped this embarrassment from happening. This matter is about an individual’s background. Can we watch where he goes or comes every day? Is it in our hands?” Stating that the development will have no impact on the results, Kumaraswamy said, “In Hassan the NDA candidate will win; there is no doubt about it.” He further said, “He [Prajwal] will win with a good margin. But the developments that have taken place in the last few days have led to State-wide discussion. Who released [the video clippings], a few days ago, what was the reason for releasing it? An old subject has been raised now, why didn’t they raise the issue earlier but just days ahead of the election?” Delhi HC dismisses plea for 6 years ban on PM Modi from election The [Delhi High Court on April 28 dismissed a petition seeking to order the Election Commission of India (ECI) to act against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for allegedly violating the model code of conduct]( (MCC) by allegedly seeking votes for the upcoming Lok Sabha election “in the name of god and place of worship”. Justice Sachin Datta said the present petition filed by Mr Anand S. Jondhale, an advocate, is “thoroughly misconceived for multiple reasons”. The judge said the poll panel is presently seized of a complaint filed by Jondhale against Modi. “Once the petitioner [Mr Jondhale] has submitted his complaint on April 10 at the ECI, there is no occasion for the petitioner to approach the court prior to the disposal of his complaint by the ECI,” the court said. Jondhale had also sought a direction to the ECI to disqualify Modi from elections for six years under the Representation of Peoples Act. His plea is premised on the allegation that during a speech delivered by the Prime Minister at Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh on April 9, an appeal was made to the voters to vote for his party “in the name of Hindu deities and places of worship and also in the name of Sikh deities and Sikh places of worship”. The high court, however, said, “the petitioner presupposes that there has been a violation of model code of conduct...this pre-supposition is completely unjustified”. “It is also not permissible for the court to direct the ECI to take a particular view on the petitioner’s complaint or any other complaint for that matter. The ECI is obliged to take an independent view on petitioner’s complaint,” the judge added. During the brief hearing, ECI’s counsel submitted that the complaint made by Jondhale will be duly processed and appropriate orders will be passed. Following this, the high court dismissed the plea, saying, “if the petitioner is aggrieved by the ECI’s order, it can take appropriate legal remedies”. Earlier this month, Jondhale had complained to the poll panel against Prime Minister Modi regarding the same issue. “But till date no action has been taken by the Respondent No.1. [ECI],” his petition had stated. “Respondent No.2 [Prime Minister Modi] said that he has constructed the Ram Temple. Respondent No.2 also stated that he developed Kartarpur Sahib Corridor and removed GST from material used in Langars served in Gurudwaras. The Respondent No.2 also said that he had brought back the copies of Guru Granth Sahib from Afghanistan,” the plea stated. Jondhale further claimed that Prime Minister Modi “not only sought votes in the name of Hindu and Sikh Deities and their Places of Worship, but also made comments against opposite political parties as favouring Muslims”. “Thus, the Respondent No.2 has violated the Model Code of Conduct...which states that no Party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes or communities, religious or linguistic,” the plea said. Supreme Court notice on plea to allow people who have left Islam to inherit under secular rather than sharia law [The Supreme Court on April 29 sought the Union Government’s response to a petition filed by a Kerala-based woman, who said she, though born a Muslim, is now a non-believer, and should be governed by the secular statutes rather than the Sharia law.]( Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, heading a three-judge Bench, said P.M. Safiya, a resident of Alapuzha district and represented by advocte Prashant Padmanabhan, has raised an “important issue”. The court issued formal notices to the Union Government and the State of Kerala. The case was posted for detailed hearing in July. Padmanabhan submitted that the Supreme Court has already underscored that the “fundamental postulate of secularism which treats all religions on an even platform and allows to each individual the fullest liberty to believe or not to believe”. To realise the full meaning of what the Supreme Court intended, Padmanabhan submitted that a person who leaves her faith should not incur any disability or a disqualification in matters of inheritance or other important civil rights. “Persons who do not want to be governed by the Muslim Personal Law must be allowed to be governed by the secular law of the country, viz, the Indian Succession Act, 1925 both in the case of intestate and testamentary succession,” the petition said. Safiya, who is general secretary of ‘Ex-Muslims of Kerala’, said that a person who leaves her faith in Islam, will be ousted from her community and is not entitled for any inheritance right in her parental property. “The petitioner wishes to get a declaration that she shall not be governed by Muslim Personal Law for any of the matters listed in Sections 2 or 3 of the Muslim Personal Law [Shariat] Application Act, 1937, but there is no provision either in the Act or in the Rules wherein she can obtain such a certificate. There is a clear vacuum in the statute which can be plugged by judicial interpretation,” the petition noted. It noted that the legal vacuum would leave the petitioner with no recourse to succeed to her parental property even if she officially got a no-religion, no-caste certificate from an authority. This state of affairs was a direct violation of the fundamental right to believe (or not to believe) in a religion under Article 25 of the Constitution, Padmanabhan argued. Poll roundup: - [Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, Akshay Kanti Bam has withdrawn his nomination from the poll race on April 29](. An official at the State Election Commission confirmed that Mr. Bam has withdrawn his candidature. Mr. Patwari, as per a video that surfaced online, went to the Returning Officer’s office with BJP MLA Ramesh Mendola and withdrew his candidature. Meanwhile, senior BJP leader and state cabinet minister Kailash Vijayvargiya in a post on X said Mr. Bam was welcome to join the BJP. - The [Congress on April 29 announced four more Lok Sabha candidates from Punjab]( fielding PCC chief Amarinder Singh Brar (Raja Warring) from Ludhiana and party general secretary Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa from Gurdaspur. The party has fielded former MP Vijay Inder Singla from Anandpur Sahib and Kulbir Singh Zira from Khadoor Sahib, replacing sitting MP Jasbir Singh Gill. Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib Manish Tewari has been shifted to Chandigarh Lok Sabha constituency while Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu has joined the BJP. - [The voter turnout in the April 26 Lok Sabha elections in Kerala was updated to 71.27% on April 29](. Of the total 2,77,49,158 voters in Kerala, 1,97,77,478 exercised their franchise. In all, 1,03,02,238 women, 94,75,090 men and 150 transgender voters cast their votes on April 26, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO – Kerala) Sanjay Kaul said. In Brief: Hemant Soren bail plea | Supreme Court issues notice to the ED; to consider his plea next week The [Supreme Court on April 29 issued a notice to the Directorate of Enforcement on former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s plea for interim bail](. A Bench, headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna, posted the case for the week commencing on May 6. Meanwhile, the Bench, also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, gave the Jharkhand High Court liberty to pronounce judgment on Soren’s petition challenging his arrest by the ED in January. Israel concerned about possible ICC arrest warrants as pressure mounts over war in Gaza [Israeli officials on April 29 appeared to be increasingly concerned that the International Criminal Court may issue arrest warrants against the country’s leaders]( as international pressure mounts over its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah overnight and into Monday killed at least 22 people, including six women and five children, one of whom was just 5 days old, according to hospital records and an Associated Press reporter. The ICC launched a probe three years ago into possible war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian militants going back to the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, but it has given no indication such warrants are imminent. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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