The Madras High Court on Monday held the Election Commission of India (ECI) responsible for spreading the second wave of Covid-19 and said that murder charges should be imposed on ECI for its “irresponsible” behavior.
Criticizing the ECI for not stopping political parties from violating the Covid norms, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said, “You are the only institution responsible for the situation that we are in today”.
Reminding the ECI that it is all about “survival and protection ‘now and that “everything else comes next, the Madras High Court said it may order the ECI to stop counting on May 2 if the ECI fails to prepare a proper blueprint on how Covid protocols will be maintained during the counting process.
It added, “Politics or no politics, whether the counting takes place in a staggered manner or deferred at no cost, 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 in such regard”.
The case will be heard on April 30.