SC refuses to stay oath of Nayab Singh Saini as CM in Haryana

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking to stay the oath ceremony of Nayab Singh Saini as the Chief Minister of Haryana.

“What kind of petition is this? (The petition is) taken on board and dismissed,” held a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

Saini had earlier in the day taken oath as the Chief Minister of Haryana for the second time at a ceremony held in Panchkula. Senior BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and senior leaders of the NDA coalition apart from the members of public were in attendance. Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administered the oath to Saini at Dussehra Grounds in Panchkula.

The counsel appearing for the petitioner referred to alleged discrepancies in some Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the counting of votes of the Haryana assembly polls. He said there were 20 complaints and the EVMs were functioning at 99 per cent battery capacity during the counting. Usually average EVMs operate at 60 to 70 per cent battery capacity during the counting, he added.\The bench had refused to stay the oath ceremony and questioned, “How can we restrain the elected government from taking oath?” It also took a strong exception, warning to impose costs on the petitioner.

“Do you want us to stall the oath taking of an elected government? We are putting you on guard. We will impose costs. Circulate the papers. We will see,” the CJI said.

The bench subsequently dismissed the petition.