New Delhi: The Election Commission has sent its response to the Jharkhand Raj Bhavan on Chief Minister Hemant Soren's office of profit issue.
Sources said that the letter comprising the Election Commission's opinion on the issue was sent on Tuesday.
Earlier, on Monday, a team of the poll panel concluded the hearing in the Hemant Soren mine leasing case, in which the BJP has accused him of extending himself a mining lease and sought his disqualification as an MLA.
The BJP had earlier approached the poll panel seeking Hemant Soren's disqualification for "violating" section 9-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which deals with disqualification for government contracts.
As per rules, if any question arises as to whether a member of a House of the Legislature of a state has become subject to any of the disqualifications, the question shall be referred to the governor whose decision shall be final.&nbsp;
—IANS

The Election Commission has sent its response to the Jharkhand Raj Bhavan on Chief Minister Hemant Soren's office of profit issue.

 EC sends opinion on Soren's disqualification to Jharkhand Governor

New Delhi: A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the restoration of Lok Sabha membership of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi. &nbsp;
The petition contended that once a member of Parliament or a state legislature loses his office by operation of law, he will continue to be disqualified till he is acquitted from the charges levelled against him.
The petitioner, Ashok Pandey, a Lucknow-based lawyer, prayed the Constitution Bench to decide as to whether on the basis of a stay of conviction, a person who has suffered disqualification by operation of law, will become qualified to be chosen as or for being, a member of Parliament or state legislature.&nbsp;
On August 4, the Supreme Court stayed the conviction of Rahul Gandhi in the ‘Modi surname' defamation case, which had cost him his Lok Sabha membership, saying that no reasons were given by the trial judge for imposing the maximum punishment of two years in the case.
Following the stay order of the Supreme Court, Lok Sabha secretariat restored his membership in Parliament on August 7.
Gandhi was disqualified as an MP in March this year after a Surat court convicted him and sentenced him to two years in prison for his "How come all thieves have Modi as the common surname" remark made during an election rally in Karnataka in April 2019. Gandhi's remark was interpreted as an attempt to draw an implicit connection between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and fugitive businessmen Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi.&nbsp;
—IANS

A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the restoration of Lok Sabha membership of former Congress President Rahul Gandhi.  

PIL in SC challenges restoration of Rahul’s Lok Sabha membership

Dec 23: Former TV journalist Yekaterina Duntsova has been barred from running against President Vladimir Putin in an election next March because of "mistakes" in her application to register as a candidate, her campaign channel said on Telegram.
The move came only three days after Duntsova, 40, had applied to the electoral commission to be registered as a candidate. She had planned to run on a platform of ending the war in Ukraine and freeing political prisoners.
A video posted by a Russian news channel showed a meeting of the central electoral commission at which its members voted unanimously not to allow Duntsova's candidacy to go ahead. The immediate torpedoing of Duntsova's campaign will be seized on by Putin's critics as evidence that no one with genuine opposition views will be allowed to stand against him in the first presidential election since he launched the war in Ukraine. They see it as a fake process with only one possible outcome.  The Kremlin says Putin will win because he enjoys genuine support across society, with opinion poll ratings of around 80 per cent.
—Reuters

Former TV journalist Yekaterina Duntsova has been barred from running against President Vladimir Putin in an election next March because of "mistakes"

Would-be Putin challenger Duntsova barred from running in election, says campaign team

Denver: Colorado authorities are investigating possible threats against state Supreme Court Justices, Denver police said on Tuesday, one week after the court barred former President Donald Trump from the state's presidential primary ballot.
The FBI said it was assisting local law enforcement in the investigation.  The Denver Police Department also said it was providing "extra patrols" around the homes of the justices, who ruled 4-3 on December 19 that Trump should be disqualified under a little-known clause of the US Constitution's 14th Amendment for engaging in insurrection.  Two nights later, Denver police officers were dispatched to the home of one of the justices in response to a call for service that police afterward described as an apparent "hoax report", adding they were still investigating the incident.  Republican strategists have suggested the Colorado ballot ruling, likely headed for a US Supreme Court appeal, would spark a backlash among political conservatives by reinforcing the narrative that Trump is the victim of a partisan legal process.  NBC News and other media outlets have since reported the emergence of violent rhetoric on right-wing online forums from Trump supporters aimed at the four Colorado justices who sided against him.
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The posts in question, according to news reports, included messages calling for the justices' personal information to be publicly exposed, and an apparent reference to the judges that said, "All f**ing robed rats must f**ing hang."  "The Denver Police Department is currently investigating incidents directed at Colorado Supreme Court Justices and will continue working with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to thoroughly investigate any reports of threats or harassment," police said in a statement on Tuesday.  Responding to a query about the probe, an FBI spokesperson in Denver said in a statement the agency was "aware of the situation and working with local law enforcement."  "We will vigorously pursue investigations of any threat or use of violence committed by someone who uses extremist views to justify their actions regardless of motivation," the FBI statement added.  Neither the police nor the FBI commented on the nature or extent of the incidents under investigation.  A spokesperson for the Colorado state judicial branch likewise declined to comment on the issue.  The investigation comes as Trump himself has leveled increasingly inflammatory rhetoric at his perceived enemies in recent days, with the former president posting a Christmas Day message on his Truth Social platform calling on his political opponents to "rot in hell".  On Tuesday, he posted a poll on Truth Social highlighting that the single word voters most associate with a potential second term under his command is "revenge".
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Trump became the first candidate in US history deemed ineligible for the White House under a provision of the 14th Amendment prohibiting officials who engage in "insurrection or rebellion" against the US government from holding elected office.  The Colorado High Court held that the insurrection clause applies to Trump because of the role he played in stoking the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters seeking to block Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden's victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential race.  The Colorado court, whose decision applies only to the state's March 5 Republican primary, said it would delay the effect of its ruling until at least January 4, 2024, to allow time for an appeal.  Trump has been indicted on criminal charges in federal court and in the state of Georgia over his efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat based on unsubstantiated claims that the election was stolen through massive voter fraud.
—Reuters

Colorado authorities are investigating possible threats against state Supreme Court Justices, Denver police said on Tuesday

Police, FBI probe threats to Colorado judges in Trump ballot case

Washington: The Colorado Republican Party on Wednesday asked the US Supreme Court to intervene after Colorado's top court disqualified former President Donald Trump from appearing on the state's Republican primary ballot, an attorney for the Republican group said.
The appeal comes after the Colorado Supreme Court on December 19 disqualified Trump because of his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. The court barred Trump under a US constitutional provision prohibiting anyone who "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" from holding public office.  The Colorado Republican Party is being represented by Jay Sekulow of the conservative litigation firm the American Center for Law &amp; Justice.
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Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination, is expected to file his own appeal. The state high court had put its decision on hold until January 4, stating that Trump would remain on the ballot if he appealed.  The Colorado court's ruling marked the first time in history that Section 3 of the US Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment - the so-called disqualification clause - had been used to deem a presidential candidate ineligible for the White House.  The 4-3 Colorado Supreme Court ruling reversed a lower court judge's conclusion that Trump engaged in insurrection by inciting his supporters to violence, but as president, he was not an "officer of the United States" who could be disqualified under the Fourteenth Amendment.
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The Colorado court concluded that Trump's role instigating violence at the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify the results of the 2020 election constituted engaging in insurrection, and that the presidency is covered by the insurrection provision.  The attack was an attempt by Trump's supporters to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden, which Trump falsely claims was the result of fraud.  Courts have rejected several lawsuits seeking to keep Trump off the primary ballot in other states. Minnesota's top court rebuffed an effort to disqualify Trump from the Republican primary in that state but did not rule on his overall eligibility to serve as president.
—Reuters

The Colorado Republican Party on Wednesday asked the US Supreme Court to intervene after Colorado's top court disqualified former President

Republicans seek Supreme Court intervention in Trump's Colorado ballot disqualification

Maine [US]: Maine's top election official has removed former President Donald Trump from the state's 2024 ballot, citing the 14th Amendment's "insurrectionist ban," CNN reported. This decision follows a similar move by the Colorado Supreme Court earlier this month, making Maine the second state to disqualify Trump from running for office.
A bipartisan group of former state lawmakers initiated the challenge against Trump, leading to an administrative hearing earlier this month on his eligibility for office.
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Maine Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, issued the decision on Thursday, acknowledging the unprecedented nature of such an action against a presidential candidate. "I do not reach this conclusion lightly," Bellows wrote. "Democracy is sacred ... I am mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection." The decision by Bellows can be appealed in state court, and it is anticipated that Trump's legal team will contest this outcome. The issue is expected to escalate to the US Supreme Court, where many legal experts believe it will ultimately be settled for the entire country, according to CNN.  Trump, who denies any wrongdoing in connection with the events of January 6, 2021, and dismisses the legal challenges as meritless, faces a growing wave of opposition from critics seeking to enforce the constitutional provision designed to protect against anti-democratic insurrectionists. The Maine decision follows the momentum gained by Trump's opponents after the Colorado ruling. While other states, such as Michigan and Minnesota, rejected similar efforts before Colorado, the consecutive decisions in Colorado and Maine mark a significant victory for those pushing for accountability, as reported by CNN. Ratified after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment stipulates that American officials who "engage in" insurrection cannot hold future office. However, the provision lacks clarity on how the ban should be enforced, leaving room for legal interpretation and debate, CNN reported.
—ANI

Maine's top election official has removed former President Donald Trump from the state's 2024 ballot, citing the 14th Amendment's "insurrectionist ban,"

US: Maine's top election official disqualifies Trump from 2024 Ballot

Islamabad: A few days before the general elections scheduled for February 8 a close ally of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi has been disqualified from participating in elections for the next five years by Pakistans election commission. This decision comes as a result of Qureshis conviction and subsequent ten year imprisonment in a highly publicized case involving the leakage of classified information.  The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) made this announcement amidst a crackdown by the state authorities delivering a significant blow to Khans Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf party. It is worth noting that the party is already facing challenges as it goes into the polls without its recognizable election symbol, the bat.  The special court established under the Official Secrets Act reached its verdict on January 30 2024 finding both Qureshi and Khan guilty in connection, with a cipher case related to an alleged cable that Khan had presented during a public rally on March 27 2022. In that revelation Khan implicated the United States. Made allegations regarding an "international conspiracy" aimed at overthrowing his government.  Citing Article 63(1)(h) of the Constitution of Pakistan and Section 232 of the Elections Act from 2017 which states that "As a consequence Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi has become disqualified " the ECP justified its decision based on these provisions. As a result Mr. Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi is ineligible to run in the General Elections of 2024. Any future elections for a duration of five years."  This disqualification mirrors what happened to Imran Khan, who was previously prohibited from engaging in activities for five years. The ongoing legal proceedings raise concerns about the situation and the forthcoming general elections, in Pakistan.
—Input from Agencies

Election Commission disqualifies Imran Khan's ally, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, for 5 years amid cypher case fallout. Impact on Pakistan elections 2024.

Pakistan's Election Commission Bars Qureshi from Contesting Elections for Five Years

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh): Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania disqualified the six Congress MLAs on Thursday who cross voted in the Rajya Sabha polls. Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania said, "Six MLAs, who contested on Congress symbol, attracted provisions of anti-defection law against themselves...I declare that the six people cease to be members of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly with immediate effect."
The six MLAs who have been disqualified are Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder K Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal. The petition was filed by Congress MLA and parliamentary affairs Minister Harsh Wardhan Chauhan under the anti-defection law for disqualification of the six MLAs. After the 2022 Assembly elections, the Congress had 40 MLAs, while the BJP had 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents.
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 With the six rebel MLAs disqualified the strength of the house comes down from 68 to 62 and the halfway mark is 32. With the loss of 6 MLAs the Congress now has 34 MLAs and the BJP with independents has 28. The fortunes of the Congress will now rest on its ability to keep the rest of its flock together. Earlier today, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had called a 'breakfast meeting' of all Congress MLAs in Shimla. "It is an important meeting. Let's see what happens...This is an informal meeting," party MLA Ashish Butail said. Congress MLA Sudarshan Singh Bablu said, "The CM has called everyone for breakfast. Let's see what discussions are taking place...We received the message last night. Our Government will continue under the leadership of the Chief Minister." The meeting is also being attended by Congress' central observers Bhupinder Hooda and DK Shivakumar. The observers had met the MLAs individually on Wednesday and are expected to report to the party high command today. The BJP has claimed the Congress had lost the moral standing to be in power after losing majority in the Assembly.
—ANI

Himachal Pradesh Assembly Speaker disqualifies six Congress MLAs for violating anti-defection law, altering state politics. BJP claims moral high ground.

Six Congress MLAs who cross-voted for BJP disqualified from Himachal Assembly

New Delhi [India]: Six Himachal Pradesh rebel Congress leaders have approached the Supreme Court, challenging the Assembly's Speaker's decision to disqualify them. On February 29, the Speaker disqualified the six Congress MLAs who cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls.
The six MLAs who had been disqualified were Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder K Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma, and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal under the anti-defection law. After the 2022 Assembly elections, the Congress had 40 MLAs, while the BJP had 25 in the 68-member state assembly. The remaining three seats are held by independents. These rebel legislators have cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha polls. In the Rajya Sabha election recently, the BJP, which has only 25 MLAs, managed to secure 9 additional votes. The vote thus ended in a 34-34 tie, with three Independents and six Congress MLAs cross-voting for the BJP. Mahajan ended up winning after the result was decided with a draw of lots. Undeterred by critical remarks made by Congress leaders and the internal rift within the state unit of Himachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu affirmed on Saturday that he still has the support of 80 per cent of MLAs. "BJP indulged in horsetrading and got cross-voting done during Rajya Sabha elections. It is the opposition's job to level allegations, and that is what they will do," Sukhu said.
—ANI

Six Himachal Pradesh Congress MLAs disqualified for cross-voting in Rajya Sabha polls challenge Speaker's decision in Supreme Court, stirring politics.

Six rebel Himachal Congress MLAs move Supreme Court over disqualification

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday summoned original records pertaining to the plea of the Uddhav Thackeray group seeking disqualification of MLAs, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, from the office of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar.
The speaker had, in an order on January 10, declared the Shiv Sena bloc led by Shinde as the 'real political party' after its split in June 2022. He had also rejected the Thackeray faction's plea to disqualify 16 MLAs of the ruling camp, including Shinde.  A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra sent for the original documents after the Shinde faction alleged forgery in the records by the Thackeray camp.  The top court, which had issued notice on the Thackeray group's petition, asked Shinde and his MLAs to file a response positively on or before April 1, and listed the plea for final hearing on April 8.  The bench said it was keeping the issue of maintainability of the petition open.  On January 22, the top court had sought responses from the chief minister and other lawmakers of his group on the plea.  The Thackeray faction, in its petition filed through MLA Sunil Prabhu, has alleged that Shinde 'unconstitutionally usurped power' and is heading an "unconstitutional government".  The Shinde group had the support of 37 out of the total 54 Sena MLAs when the party split in June 2022, the speaker had noted.  The Election Commission had given the 'Shiv Sena' name and 'bow and arrow' symbol to the Shinde faction in early 2023.
—PTI

Supreme Court to examine plea against MLA disqualifications in Shiv Sena's split, with Thackeray faction challenging Shinde's leadership ahead of April 8 hearing.

The Hawk

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EC sends opinion on Soren's disqualification to Jharkhand Governor

Pankaj Sharma

Tag : Disqualification

EC sends opinion on Soren's disqualification to Jharkhand Governor

Pankaj Sharma

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