SC-HINDUTVA 3

\ Sibal said \\"sometime, there were subtle, sometimes Sibal said \\"sometime, there were subtle, sometimes\indirect and at times direct ways of seeking votes in the name\of religion, race, caste, community and language\\".\ He said the five-judge bench had wrongly held that the\manifesto of a political party could not be attributed to its\candidates.\ \\"We have confidence in this court,\\" he said, adding that\the caste and religion-based politics has to end.\ The bench said one way of interpretation was that the\term \\’his religion\\’ meant the religion of the candidate and a\third person, seeking votes in the name of religion for a\candidate, cannot be expressly held to be indulging in corrupt\practice.\ The hearing remained inconclusive and would continue\tomorrow.\ Yesterday, the bench had ruled out re-visiting the famous\\\’Hindutva\\’ verdict holding Hinduism as a \\"way of life\\’ making\it clear that it would not go into the \\"larger debate\\" as the\issue did not find mention in the reference made by a\five-judge bench.\ Section 123(3) of the RP Act, which is being scrutinised,\reads: \\"The appeal by a candidate or his agent or by any other\person with the consent of a candidate or his election agent\to vote or refrain from voting for any person on the ground of\his religion, race, caste, community or language or the use\of, or appeal to religious symbols or the use of, or appeal\to, national symbols…, for furtherance of the prospects of\the election of that candidate or for prejudicially affecting\the election of any candidate\\" would amount to corrupt\practices.\ Social activist Teesta Setalvad had earlier sought to\intervene in the matter with an application stating that\religion and politics should not be mixed and a direction be\passed to de-link religion from politics.\ The bench is hearing a batch of petitions including the\one filed by Abhiram Singh whose election as an MLA in 1990 on\BJP ticket from Santacruz assembly seat in Mumbai was set\aside by the Bombay High Court.\ The apex court in February 2014 had tagged Abhiram\Singh\\’s petition with others in which the five judge bench had\decided in 2002 to re-visit its 20-year old \\’Hindutva\\’\judgement for an authoritative pronouncement on electoral laws\by a seven-judge bench. (More) PTI SJK MNL RKS\ARC\