According to section 123 (3) of the People’s Representation Act of 1951, no candidate or his agent can appeal for votes on the grounds of religion, race, caste, community or language. The Bombay High Court had in the mid-1990s set aside the election of Shiv Sena leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi and the matter was then moved to Supreme Court. The Supreme Court in 1995 had overturned the Bombay High Court order and remarked that Hindutva is a way of life and not a way of religion, reported The Indian Express.
The Financial Express reported that the Supreme Court also said that the relation between man and God is an individual choice and that the state should refrain from interfering from such activities. The majority view of the Supreme Court upheld that if a politician makes an appeal for vote on the basis of his religion or requests his voters and agents to vote on the basis of caste, creed and religion, the elections will be void.
(Sourced from agencies, feature image courtesy:oneindia.com)
