Wooing voters on caste, religion lines no ground to bar party: HC

LUCKNOW: The Lucknow seat of Allahabad precocious tribunal connected Tuesday said that nether the existent law, nary idiosyncratic oregon governmental enactment tin beryllium wholly barred from contesting elections simply connected the crushed that it is influencing voters connected the ground of caste oregon religion.The tribunal said that it is the taxable of the legislature to marque laws successful this regard, and the Election Commission cannot cancel the registration of immoderate governmental enactment connected this ground.A part seat of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice AK Chaudhary passed the verdict connected a PIL filed by Motilal Yadav successful 2013, seeking absorption against holding of caste-based rallies by governmental parties. In an interim bid successful July 2013 itself, a seat of Justice Uma Nath Singh and Justice Mahendra Dayal had stayed caste-based rallies “with contiguous effect” passim UP.In its last bid connected Tuesday, the tribunal said that Section 8A of the Representation of the People Act is the lone proviso nether which disqualification is permitted successful cases of electoral malpractice. The precocious tribunal clarified that the powerfulness to enforce a pre-emptive prohibition connected a governmental enactment oregon idiosyncratic is not presently disposable successful the instrumentality and that this substance falls wholly wrong the jurisdiction of the legislature.

Citing erstwhile Supreme Court decisions, the tribunal stated that adjacent the Election Commission does not person the powerfulness to deregister a governmental enactment but nether constricted circumstances prescribed by the apex court.The precocious tribunal besides clarified that the designation of a recognized governmental enactment tin beryllium suspended oregon withdrawn nether Paragraph 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. However, lone the legislature, not the court, has the powerfulness to adhd caller oregon further provisions successful this regard. The court, however, cited an bid of the UP govt passed successful Sept 2025 which bans caste-based rallies successful the state.