Delhi HC asks ECI to ensure political parties don’t use ‘vilifying’ material in polls

Image for representation
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (January 30, 2025) directed the Election Commission to ensure political parties and their candidates did not use any “vilifying” material during election campaigns.

A bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said the State election officer, chief election officer and the district election officer were fully empowered and duty-bound to check such messages and advertising material being circulated by political parties and their candidates having the tendency to vilify the atmosphere in elections.

It passed the direction on a plea alleging spam calls and voice messages were made to public by unknown numbers to vote a particular political party to power to get freebies.

Advocate Sidhant Kumar, representing the ECI, said the commission took cognisance of the petitioners’ complaint and directed the chief election officer, Delhi to enquire into the allegations and submit a report.

Mr. Kumar said ECI issued guidelines mandating that political advertisements, including voice calls, were certified. He said as and when the report of the chief election officer was received, appropriate action would be taken.

The plea was filed by three lawyers Dhrone Diwan, Kashish Dhawan and Arshia Jain, who appeared in person, claiming a message was relayed through voice calls that if votes were not cast to a particular political party, voters’ freebies would be withdrawn.

On their plea to postpone the elections, the court said such prayer could not be granted in the midst of polls.

The petition alleged spam calls were being motivated with the intent to disseminate hatred, bias, malicious and vilifying material in the public domain.

Material that was being disseminated created an opinion against other political parties which was enough to tarnish their image and to create public bias, it said.