HC refrains from hearing plea to bar Farooq, Omar from LS polls

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday (April 12) refused to hear a plea seeking to bar Jammu and Kashmir politicians Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti from participating in the Lok Sabha election.
The plea sought that the Election Commission should act in this regard as Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti allegedly made “seditious” statements.
The court asked the petitioner to move to the appropriate forum with his grievance after which the petition was withdrawn.
“Dismissed as withdrawn,” said a bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Prateek Jalan.
The petition filed by a lawyer alleged that the “seditious and communal statements” given by the three leaders were against the Constitution, adding that the court or the EC should bar or impose conditions on their entry into the Lok Sabha.
All the three leaders are former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir. The petition has arrayed the Election Commission, the Union of India, the Delhi Police, National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah, his son Omar Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti as parties to the petition.
The plea moved by advocate Sanjeev Kumar has also sought a direction to book them under various charges, including sedition and inciting hatred, of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
“Issue directions to the respondent number 1 (EC) to ban the National Conference (NC) and the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) from Lok Sabha election 2019 as respondent number 4 and 6 (the three leaders) are presidents of their respective parties and represent their parties and their ideologies,” it alleged.
“Will it not be a mockery of democracy to allow those people and parties to participate in the Lok Sabha election when people/parties openly call for sedition to divide Mother India on the basis of religion (Muslim majority) and two prime ministers (for Jammu and Kashmir and the rest of India),” it said.