Publication of news articles lauding achievements of a candidate be treated as paid news: EC tells SC

WrittenBy:NL Team
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“Repeated publication of propaganda lauding the achievements of a candidate in an election is nothing but “paid news”, the Election Commission of India has told the Supreme Court,” The Hindu reported.

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The Election Commission was appealing against the Delhi High Court’s verdict that set aside the poll panel’s decision to disqualify Madhya Pradesh minister Narottam Mishra. The MP minister was disqualified for three years on charges of paid news. Mishra was disqualified on June 23 last year “for not filing the accounts for money spent as election expenses on news items”.

Challenging the decision, the poll panel claimed that the “high court had erred in restricting its role in taking action to curb the menace of paid news”, The Indian Express reported.

In its appeal, the poll panel has asked the top court to examine whether publication of certain materials would amount to paid news. “Where there appears in daily newspapers having wide circulation, statements issued by and in the name of a candidate which are not only laudatory of his record and achievements but also are direct appeal to voters by the candidate himself, would it be erroneous for the Election Commission to treat such statements as not news, but paid-news.” Express quoted the EC as saying in its appeal.

The poll panel’s petition also stated that if such “motivated propaganda is allowed in the garb of free speech during the election period, candidates with a strong network of connections and undefined relationships will exploit their sphere of influence in society and will have the unequal advantage of encashing such silent services”.

The Election Commission also said “its powers to investigate the contents of such news coverage should not be thwarted”, a Hindu report stated.

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