Madras High Court hold ECI responsible for 2nd wave of Covid-19 & said it must face murder charges

April 26: “Your institution is singularly responsible for the second wave of COVID-19. Your officers should be booked on murder charges probably,” reacted the Madras High Court on Monday against the Election Commission for not being able to ensure that political parties adhered to Covid protocol during their campaign for the state elections. The scathing observations came four days after the Calcutta High Court had censured the EC for not doing enough to ensure that political parties were following appropriate Covid protocols amid the surging second wave.

“Were you on another planet when the election rallies were held,” Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee had questioned. The High Court also asked for a plan to enforce Covid rules on May 2 – the day of the results – by Friday. Without it, the counting could also be stopped, said the High Court. The High Court ruled on a petition by Tamil Nadu Transport Minister MR Vijayabaskar seeking Covid compliance during counting in Karur, from where he contested the election.

The High Court further observed, ““Politics or no politics, whether the counting takes place in a staggered manner or deferred… at no cost (should) the counting of votes on May 2 result in being a catalyst to a further surge. Public health is of paramount importance and it is distressing that Constitutional authorities have to be reminded.”