Madras HC bans bursting of firecrackers on May 2 in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry

The Madras High Court Chief Justice Sanjib Bannerjee banned the bursting of firecrackers on May 2 in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Madras High Court Chief Justice on Friday accepted a request made by advocate Ajay Francis Loyola to impose a ban on the bursting of firecrackers on the day of the counting of votes in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on May 2.

The High Court hopes that political parties, media persons and citizens at large will follow the COVID-19 protocol on the day of the counting of Assembly election votes on May 2. "Leaders of political parties should keep their rank and file in check and prevent from bursting of crackers," the court said.

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The Madras High Court Chief Justice Sanjib Bannerjee said that the court had taken up a suo motu case on COVID-19 not to issue directions by presuming itself to be an expert on the subject but only to make the governments act on the basis of inputs and expert advice. Chief Justice said we may not be qualified to take a call.

Centre told Madras HC that till December 2020, the COVID-19 curve was flattening and that in January everything was fine. Only thereafter, the surge was noticed in Maharashtra and Kerala.

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Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee said courts concerned would take care of frivolous complaints being filed against the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Senior Counsel Rakesh Dwivedi representing ECI urged High Court to instruct the media to not sensationalise the issue. He said it is a very difficult job to conduct elections during difficult times and people are filing criminal complaints against ECI.

(ANI)