Feb 10, 2021, 13:21 IST
The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Wednesday struck down the orders of State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar s orders barring Panchayat Raj Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy from speaking to the media till February 21, as unconstitutional.
It may be recalled that the single bench of the AP High Court on Sunday struck down the orders of SEC to Director General of Police Gautam Sawang to confine Panchayat Raj Minister Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy to his residence till the end of AP Panchayat Elections ( February 21).
The Panchayat Raj Minister had earlier filed a house motion petition challenging the SEC orders in the High Court, which came up for hearing before Justice DVSS Somayajulu.
Andhra SEC can t use eWatch app until Feb 17 as HC adjourns case
By IANS |
Published on
Tue, Feb 9 2021 21:03 IST |
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Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar as the State Election Commissioner (SEC). (File Photo: IANS). Image Source: IANS News
Amaravati, Feb 9 : In a major setback to Andhra Pradesh State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar, the high court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on eWatch , an election monitoring app, until February 17, rendering it useless until then.
The court said the SEC cannot use the app until it procures a security certificate, and directed the SEC to reply to the queries raised by the Andhra Pradesh Technology Services (APTS), the nodal agency for conducting security audit and issuing a security certificate, without which no app can come into play.
HC reserves judgmenton Peddireddi’s plea
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The High Court reserved its judgment on the petition filed by Panchayat Raj & Rural Development Minister Peddireddi Ramachandra Reddy against the State Election Commission’s order that he should not speak to the media till February 21.
A division bench of the court, led by Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami and Justice C. Praveen Kumar, heard the arguments on both sides on Tuesday and reserved their verdict following an undertaking given on behalf of the Minister that he would not make inciteful remarks against the SEC.
It may be noted that the High Court dismissed the SEC order for confining Mr. Ramachandra Reddy to his residence till February 21 for vitiating the gram panchayat elections by allegedly threatening the District Collectors and other officials on election duty and making objectionable comments in the media.
Andhra Pradesh HC directs SEC not to use eWatch
Updated Feb 10, 2021, 12:56 am IST
Government pleader informed the court that state Technology Services carried out a preliminary test and noticed security concerns in the app
The court inquired whether the state government was having any objection if the SEC intended to use the app developed by it. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh High Court directed the State Election Commission not to use the newly developed software application called ‘eWatch’ following security concerns and posted the next hearing in the case to February. 17.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami and Ch. Praveen Kumar held the hearing on Tuesday on a petition filed raising objection on usage of ‘eWatch’ meant to keep check on poll related irregularities, as it was developed by a private agency.