New Delhi, 11 April 2014

The Election Commission under Article 324 of the Constitution has directed the Uttar Pradesh state administration to withhold permission for all public meetings, public processions, public rallies, road shows, etc to be addressed or attended by Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan and BJP leader Amit Shah for the remaining part of the campaign. The poll panel on Friday also pulled up the UP authorities for failing to act promptly, particularly in Azam Khan’s case as no FIR had been filed against him over his repeated communal references.

The panel also instructed the UP administration to take all preventive measures under the relevant provisions of Section 107 to 110 and Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code, to ensure that no act of commission of omission is resorted to by Shah and Khan, which has the effect of prejudicially affecting public tranquility and law and order.

EC directed the UP chief secretary to ensure that FIRs be filed immediately against Azam Khan and criminal proceedings initiated against both Khan and Shah. The commission has asked the UP chief secretary and chief electoral officer to file a compliance report in respect of its instructions by 5pm on Saturday.

While Shah was issued an EC notice on April 7 and FIRs filed against him in Shamli and Bijnore under Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act and Section 153A of the IPC. Azam Khan was slapped with a commission notice on April 9 for his personal digs at both Narendra Modi and Amit Shah and his controversial statement crediting Muslim soldiers for Kargil victory.

On April 10, however, Khan issued yet another controversial statement in Rampur, calling Modi a “murderer” and Amit Shah “a fascist and murderer of humanity”. He also reiterated his Kargil remark.

The commission said it will issue a separate show-cause notice to Khan over his April 10 utterances.