SC directs ECI to pass necessary and appropriate orders on TMC candidate Mahua Moitra’s plaint against sexist remarks by BJP leaders

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] three-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi, Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna today directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to pass necessary and appropriate order on Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra's petition accusing the District President of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) Mahadev Sarkar and BJP candidate from the parliamentary constituency of Krishnanagar, Kalyan Choubey, of making sexually coloured remarks against her during the poll campaign.

Moitra had approached the Apex Court seeking a bar on BJP leaders Mahadev Sarkar and  Kalyan Choubey from holding any public meetings, public processions, public rallies, road shows and interviews and public utterances in the media (electronic, print, social media etc.) in connection with the ongoing elections for at least 72 hours, for violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by making sexually coloured remarks against the TMC candidate for Lok Sabha election Mahua Moitra.

According to Moitra, on April 22, 2019, during a BJP election rally at  Krishnanagar, the party District President Mahadev Sarkar in his speech delivered before a large audience, made highly offensive and sexually coloured remarks against her with the intention to insult her modesty and affect her standing with the public in Krishnanagar. In summary, Sarkar is alleged to have said:

• that the ornament and garb of an Indian woman is her 'shame', and that the Petitioner does not have any;
• that the Petitioner is a woman but has forgotten Indian culture;
• that the Petitioner's videos are going viral, and that the Petitioner drinks coloured water every night, and that Indian women will not forgive this;
• That the Sita, Savitri, Damayanti and Bishnupriya of this land and women of this land are saluted by the entire world, but the Petitioner has insulted all Indian women by her actions, by not following their tradition.

Moitra had, therefore, submitted before the Apex Court that by making these statements on a public platform while campaigning for and in the presence of the BJP Lok Sabha candidate Kalyan Choubey, Sarkar had sought to demean the petitioner on the basis of her gender and bring her character into disrepute among the general public, all for electoral gains. His actions, she said,  had not only insulted her modesty and intruded upon her privacy, thereby causing her immense distress and mental agony, but it also amount to sexual harassment as defined under the law.

In addition, petitioner told the Court that the statements by BJP leaders also amounted to a serious breach of the Model Code of Conduct of the Election Commission of India, and amount to a corrupt practice under the Representation of Peoples Act within the Krishnanagar parliamentary constituency.

Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising submitted that less than 48 hours were left for campaigning in the constituency in question and urgent orders were required, directing the Election Commission of India to forthwith take necessary steps in the matter.

The Supreme Court then proceeded to pass the order to the effect "Having regard to the limited prayer made and the time available, we direct the competent authority in the Election Commission of India to pass necessary orders forthwith upon production of a certified copy of this order".

Before approaching to the Supreme Court, the petitioner had also approached the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) West Bengal and Election Commission of India but to no avail.

Read the Order

[pdfviewer]https://cdn.theleaflet.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/25132845/15036_2019_Order_25-Apr-2019.pdf[/pdfviewer]

Read the Petition

[pdfviewer]https://cdn.theleaflet.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/25132849/Writ-Petition-Mahua-Moitra.pdf[/pdfviewer]