New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) challenging the order by the Calcutta High Court restraining it from publishing any kind of derogatory advertisement against the All India Trinamool Congress, which violated the model code of conduct during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
BJP Withdraws The Petition
As the bench of justices JK Maheshwari and KV Viswanathan were not convinced about the plea, BJP sought to withdraw the petition. The court, however, granted liberty to the petitioner BJP to approach the Calcutta High Court and contest the notices issued to it by the HC's Single Judge bench.
The top court said that it see no reason to interfere with the Calcutta HC order and also observed that prima facie, advertisements is disparaging.
The BJP had on Friday approached the Supreme Court against the High Court order restraining it from publishing any kind of derogatory advertisements against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) which violated the model code of conduct during the Lok Sabha Elections, 2024.
The BJP has challenged the May 22 Calcutta High Court order that refused to interfere with a single-judge verdict directing the party not to publish any advertisement violating the Model Code of Conduct during the Lok Sabha election process.
The division bench of the High Court had refused to interfere with a single-judge order in the matter, while observing that a "Laxman Rekha" should be adhered to. It had said there should not be any personal attack on the part of any political party.
The division bench had emphasised that it was imperative that all political parties follow healthy electoral practices, as the ultimate victim of misleading electoral campaigns was the voter. The BJP in its appeal before the division bench had claimed that the single judge passed the order without giving it any hearing.
