"Your institution is singularly responsible for the second wave of COVID-19. Your officers should be booked on murder charges probably," the Madras High Court told the Election Commission.
The court stated that the election body had failed to enforce COVID safety rules like masks, sanitisers, and social distancing during campaigning despite court orders.
The court also asked for a plan to enforce COVID rules on May 2, the day of the results, by Friday. Without it, the counting could also be stopped, said the High Court.
"Public health is paramount. Distressing that constitutional authorities ought to be reminded. It is only when a citizen survives that he'll be able to enjoy the rights that a democratic republic guarantees," the court added.
The court was hearing a petition by Tamil Nadu Transport Minister MR Vijayabaskar seeking COVID compliance in counting halls in the Karur constituency, from where he contested.
COVID cases have exploded alongside elections held in Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and Puducherry.
It is only last Thursday that the Election Commission stopped roadshows and rallies and limited public meetings to 500 people.
India has witnessed a new highest single-day spike in the cases of the novel coronavirus as a deadly second wave sweeps the country with 3.52 lakh new cases and 2,812 COVID-induced fatalities, taking the total active caseload in the country to 28.07 lakh cases. So far, there have been 1.95 lakh COVID-induced deaths from across the nation. The fresh surge in the cases of this deadly infectious disease takes the total tally of cases to 1.73 crores. Today marks the fifth consecutive day that India reported over 3 lakh cases on a daily basis. A staggering 10 lakh cases have been reported in the last 72 hours.
Read more
