The Supreme Court bench conveyed to the counsel for the BJP that they had observed the advertisements and found them to be disparaging. They emphasized that while one may claim to be the best, they didn’t wish to contribute to escalating tensions. The bench declined to entertain the plea filed by the BJP against the Calcutta High Court’s orders restraining them from disseminating advertisements attacking the Trinamool Congress (TMC), citing them as disparaging.
Justices JK Maheshwari and KV Vishwanathan, sitting on a vacation bench, declined to overturn the high court’s decision, noting that such ads weren’t beneficial for voters and would only deteriorate the discourse. They urged restraint, reminding that political adversaries aren’t enemies.
Senior advocate PS Patwalia, representing the BJP, contested the order, but the bench reiterated their stance after reviewing the ads, emphasizing they appeared disparaging. Patwalia argued that the ads were fact-based, yet Justice Vishwanathan stressed their detrimental effect on voters.
Despite the BJP’s persistence, the bench declined to intervene, advising against escalating the matter. Consequently, the BJP withdrew their petition, seeking permission to respond before the high court single bench that issued the interim order.
The Calcutta High Court’s division bench had recently declined to stay the single-judge bench’s order temporarily, as it found the BJP’s election campaign ads in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
According to the court, the ads, published throughout the month, violated the MCC by criticizing other parties or their members based on unverified claims or distortions. The court criticized the Election Commission of India (ECI) for not addressing the TMC’s complaints promptly, leading to the injunction order.
The Trinamool Congress had filed a case against the BJP, alleging that since May 4, the BJP published ads in various newspapers that breached the model code of conduct.