In a significant decision, the Supreme Court has dismissed a petition requesting the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Anurag Thakur for alleged hate speeches during the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaigns. The petition was filed by former IAS officer Emani Anantha Satyanarayana Sarma and former IIM Dean Trilochan Sastry.
The bench, comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Satish Chandra Sharma, found no grounds to proceed with the petition. The petitioners had argued that the speeches in question violated the Model Code of Conduct, the Indian Penal Code, and the Representation of People Act, 1951. They sought the ECI to enforce penalties and to investigate the dissemination of these speeches, which were also shared on the BJP’s official Instagram account.
Despite the petitioners’ assertions of serious breaches, the court did not find sufficient basis to mandate ECI action against the Prime Minister and Anurag Thakur, thus concluding this particular legal challenge.
