Cavalier and callous attitude of the political parties will not be tolerated, and the court's direction has to be followed: Supreme Court

Recently, the Supreme Court dealt with a contempt petition filed by advocate Brajesh Singh, where he claimed to be aggrieved as the Court’s directions that were passed on February 13, 2020 were not complied with, in the Bihar Legislative Assembly Election, 2020. The Court said that the cavalier and callous attitude of the political parties will not be tolerated and its orders have to be followed. The contempt petition was heard by the Bench of Justice Rohinton Nariman and B.R. Gavai where the petitioner contended that there has been willful disobedience by the political parties of the court’s judgment that was passed on February 13, 2020.On February 13, in the case of Rambabu Singh Thakur vs. Sunil Arora and Others, the Court while exercising its constitutional powers under Article 129 read with Article 142 of the Constitution of India had given directions that it is mandatory for all the political parties at the Centre and State level to upload on their website, newspapers and social media detailed information of the candidates with criminal antecedents.The question that arose in this matter was whether the Election Commission has the power to suspend or withdraw the recognition of a recognised political party for its failure to observe the Model Code of Conduct under Section 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968. In the present matter two parties, the Communist Party of India and the Nationalist Congress Party were on the docks for flouting the direction given by the Court in the Bihar Elections, 2020.