Repolling sought in Bihar’s Munger: Supreme Court refuses to intervene Rashtriya Janata Dal candidate’s petition
The Hindu
Supreme Court dismisses RJD candidate's plea for re-polling in Munger Lok Sabha seat, directs her to approach Patna High Court.
The Supreme Court on May 31 refused to entertain a petition filed by a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) candidate seeking a direction to the Election Commission of India to conduct re-polling in more than 40 booths in Munger Lok Sabha seat of Bihar.
A Vacation Bench of Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and P. B. Varale told the counsel appearing for the candidate Kumari Anita to approach the Patna High Court. “The High Courts are not closed in this country,” Justice Sharma told the lawyer. The court recorded the petition to be dismissed as withdrawn.
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The petition had alleged “serious manipulation, booth capturing and rigging by JD(U) workers with the help of officials”.
The petitioner said she was physically assaulted for complaining to the officials about the alleged misdeeds. Detailed complaints were filed with authorities, including the Chief Election Officer, Bihar; District Election Officer, Munger: and observers appointed by the top poll body, the plea said.
“Writing, in general, is a very solitary process,” says Yauvanika Chopra, Associate Director at The New India Foundation (NIF), which, earlier this year, announced the 12th edition of its NIF Book Fellowships for research and scholarship about Indian history after Independence. While authors, in general, are built for it, it can still get very lonely, says Chopra, pointing out that the fellowship’s community support is as valuable as the monetary benefits it offers. “There is a solid community of NIF fellows, trustees, language experts, jury members, all of whom are incredibly competent,” she says. “They really help make authors feel supported from manuscript to publication, so you never feel like you’re struggling through isolation.”
Several principals of government and private schools in Delhi on Tuesday said the Directorate of Education (DoE) circular from a day earlier, directing schools to conduct classes in ‘hybrid’ mode, had caused confusion regarding day-to-day operations as they did not know how many students would return to school from Wednesday and how would teachers instruct in two modes — online and in person — at once. The DoE circular on Monday had also stated that the option to “exercise online mode of education, wherever available, shall vest with the students and their guardians”. Several schoolteachers also expressed confusion regarding the DoE order. A government schoolteacher said he was unsure of how to cope with the resumption of physical classes, given that the order directing government offices to ensure that 50% of the employees work from home is still in place. On Monday, the Commission for Air Quality Management in the National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had, on the orders of the Supreme Court, directed schools in Delhi-NCR to shift classes to the hybrid mode, following which the DoE had issued the circular. The court had urged the Centre’s pollution watchdog to consider restarting physical classes due to many students missing out on the mid-day meals and lacking the necessary means to attend classes online. The CAQM had, on November 20, asked schools in Delhi-NCR to shift to the online mode of teaching.