In a legal tug-of-war against unpaid dues stemming from the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and Anuppur Assembly by-elections, Madhya Pradesh High Court steps into the arena, wielding a notice directed at the Election Commission and its cohorts. A lone judge, Anand Pathak, J., orchestrates this judicial symphony, demanding accountability from the electoral watchdog and affiliated entities.
The petitioner, hailing from the rustic realm of Anuppur in Madhya Pradesh, had inked a contract to erect tents, a pivotal chore during the electoral hustle of 2019 and the Anuppur electoral encore. Yet, despite dutifully discharging his contractual obligations, the petitioner finds himself ensnared in a financial quagmire, having merely pocketed a paltry Rs 8 lakh out of the promised Rs 64 lakh for his services.
Indignant and resolute, the petitioner waged a bureaucratic battle, besieging the bastions of the State Law Department, the Chief Electoral Officer, and the District Election Officer with impassioned pleas for recompense. Alas, his cries echoed in the corridors of power, met with nothing but the chilling silence of neglect.
To inject vitality into this narrative of bureaucratic lethargy, the Court brandishes its judicial scepter, issuing notices to the Election Commission and its retinue. These legal missives serve as a clarion call, demanding elucidation on the accusations of unpaid dues and an explanation for the apathetic inertia displayed towards the petitioner’s entreaties.
The stage is now set for a legal pas de deux, with the next hearing penciled in for July, promising a theatrical crescendo in this saga of unpaid dues and bureaucratic indifference.
