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EC withdraws guidelines on poll surveys

The Election Commission today withdrew its controversial guidelines banning publication and telecast of the results of opinion and exit polls during the ongoing mid-term elections in the wake of severe criticism of the commission by the Supreme Court for issuing such guidelines.

The withdrawal of the guidelines was communicated to a five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Justice S P Bharucha, hearing two writ petitions pending before the court since January 1998 challenging the guidelines.

The court had asked the Election Commission to issue a notification in a day or two withdrawing the guidelines.

In view of the withdrawal of guidelines by the commission, the court disposed of both the petitions-one filed by Frontline editor N Ram and the other by R Rajgopal, editor of a Tamil bi-weekly Nakkeeran.

Other judges on the bench were Justices B N Kirpal, Justice V N Khare, S S M Quadri and D P Mohapatra.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court refused to issue any direction to the Centre and others to enforce the Election Commission ban on publication of opinion polls and exit polls 48 hours before the last day of voting in the ongoing elections.

The five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by Justice S P Bharucha, thus dismissed a writ petition filed by the commission seeking directions to the Centre and others to enforce its poll-related guidelines.

The other judges on the bench were Justices B N Kripal, V N Khare, S S M Quadri and D P Mohapatra.

The bench was unanimous that the Election Commission had no powers under Article 324 of the Constitution to issue such guidelines. ''The Election Commission wants us to act in its aid and issue the directions so that if anyone violates it he can be proceeded against for contempt of the court. It is simply ridiculous. The commission should have realised that it has no powers to issue such guidelines on the plea of the Press Council of India'', the judges observed.

''Even if we direct the Centre to enforce these guidelines, how will the Centre impose them?'' the judges asked.

The court in its brief order said, ''We have heard EC counsel Harish Salve, and in our view the writ petition filed by the EC under Article 32 of the Constitution has no merits. However, we have not gone into the question weather the poll related guidelines issued by the EC are violative of the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression.''

The commission's guidelines issued on August 20, 1999 in reiteration of its earlier guidelines issued on January 20, 1998 said the result of any opinion poll conducted at any time must not be published, publicised or disseminated in any manner in or by any print or electronic media between 5 pm of September 3, and 5 pm of October 3 this year. The guidelines said print and electronic media are free to conduct exit polls during period but the result of any such poll conducted at any time must not be published, publicised or disseminated in any manner by any print or electronic media.

Earlier, EC's counsel Harish Salve submitted that the commission had issued the impugned guidelines under Article 324 of the Constitution which empowered it to oversee, direct and control matters relating to holding of free and fair polls. The Press Council of India, the counsel said, had advised the commission to issue such guidelines since opinion polls and exit polls were bound to influence the voters and thereby vitiate the election process.

"You do not have any powers to issue such guidelines. If you think you have, enforce them. How are you asking us to enforce your own order?'' Justice Bhuracha asked the counsel. Salve said the commission had approached the court in peculiar situations where some people were obeying these guidelines and some were not. The court has powers to issue a mandamus to ensure enforcement of these guidelines. The counsel said the commission had powers only to cancel elections if it found that the process had been vitiated.

"Do what you can. You are asking us to act in aid of the commission whereas all constitutional authorities are expected to act in aid of the court," Justice Bhrucha said, adding, "If you are seeking enforcement of your powers in this way it will create an impression that you have no powers to issue such guidelines."

Bharucha made it clear that the commission's guidelines were not binding. When Salve pointed out, ''The problem was that people were flouting the guidelines with impunity where do we go?'' "The problem is of your own creation. You should have realised that you do not have such powers'', Justice Bhuracha reiterated. Justice Mohapatra intervened to ask, "If you have powers to issue the guidelines why have you come to us to seek their enforcement?''

Salve said there was no machinery at the disposal of the commission to enforce the guidelines. "We could only cancel elections which would create problems as the new Lok Sabha has to be constituted by the second week of October. That was why we have approached the court to declare the guidelines enforceable." ''Why are you seeking a declaration at our hands'' Justice Bharucha asked, adding, "Exercise your plenary powers which you claim to have under Article 324 of the Constitution and issue whatever direction you feel necessary to enforce them.''

UNI

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