The Madaras High Court pulled up the Election Commission of India (ECI) for not stopping political parties from conducting rallies even as COVID cases continued to surge and noted that the EC was singularly responsible for the second wave of the pandemic. Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee noted that it was distressing to remind constitutional authorities that public health was paramount and warned of stopping the counting of votes on May 2 if COVID protocols were not followed. Madras HC further directed the EC and Tamil Nadu's CEO to hold meetings with the state's health secretary in order to create a plan which will ensure that COVID protocols were followed and asked ECI to submit the blueprint before the Court on April 30. Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee opined that the ECI officials should be 'booked on murder charges probably' for allowing political rallies amid COVID-19.

The Madaras High Court pulled up the Election Commission of India (ECI) for not stopping political parties from conducting rallies even as COVID cases continued to surge and noted that the EC was singularly responsible for the second wave of the pandemic. Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee noted that it was distressing to remind constitutional authorities that public health was paramount and warned of stopping the counting of votes on May 2 if COVID protocols were not followed. Madras HC further directed the EC and Tamil Nadu's CEO to hold meetings with the state's health secretary in order to create a plan which will ensure that COVID protocols were followed and asked ECI to submit the blueprint before the Court on April 30. Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee opined that the ECI officials should be 'booked on murder charges probably' for allowing political rallies amid COVID-19.