Supreme Court Plea Against PM Modi Doordarshan Speech Alleges MCC Violation
A writ petition has been filed before the Supreme Court of India by Congress MP T. N. Prathapan, alleging violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) and misuse of state machinery in connection with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s televised address aired on April 18, 2026.
Case Title – T.N. Prathapan v. Election Commission of India & Anr.
The plea, filed through Advocate-on-Record Suvidutt M.S., seeks directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to initiate action against the Prime Minister and/or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The case is titled T.N. Prathapan v. Election Commission of India & Anr., Diary No. 24600/2026.
Background: Televised Address Amid Election Cycle
According to the petition, the Prime Minister delivered a nationally televised address at around 8:30 PM on April 18, 2026, broadcast on Doordarshan and Sansad TV—both government-funded platforms—during the subsistence of the MCC, which came into force on March 15, 2026, due to Assembly elections in several states, including Kerala.
The speech followed the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha, which proposed expanding the House from 543 to 850 seats. The legislative package also included the Delimitation Bill, 2026 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, aimed at restructuring constituencies and facilitating one-third reservation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies post-delimitation.
Table of Contents
Allegations of Partisan Broadcast and Legal Violations
The petitioner alleges that the address was overtly partisan and directly targeted opposition parties, including the Indian National Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and Samajwadi Party.
“The address delivered by the Prime Minister was overtly partisan in both tone and substance. In the course of the broadcast, he expressly named and criticised opposition parties… attributing to them opposition to the Nari Shakti Vandan amendment and calling upon the electorate to hold them accountable at the ballot box.”
The plea contends that broadcasting such content on state-funded media during an active election period violates Section VII (4) of the MCC, which prohibits the use of public resources for partisan political publicity.
“The cumulative effect of these facts renders the broadcast a clear and egregious instance of the misuse of official machinery and state-funded media for partisan electoral purposes, in direct violation of Section VII (4) of the Model Code of Conduct.”
Further, invoking Section 123(7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the petitioner argues that the act amounts to a “corrupt practice.”
“Furthermore, the use of official governmental resources and institutional apparatus by the Prime Minister—who is also the principal campaigner of the ruling party—for the advancement of the electoral interests of the ruling party and to the detriment of opposition parties, squarely attracts the prohibition contained in Section 123 (7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and constitutes a “corrupt practice” within the meaning thereof.”
ECI Inaction and Constitutional Concerns
The plea also alleges that despite a representation submitted to the ECI on April 19, 2026, no action was taken. This, according to the petitioner, amounts to a violation of Article 324 of the Constitution, which vests the ECI with the responsibility to ensure free and fair elections.
“The broadcast constituted a misuse of state machinery and official media for electoral gain, targeted at specific opposition political parties by name, and was delivered without any sanction, authority, or justification under the Constitution or any law. The Petitioner contends that such inaction on the part of the ECI is arbitrary, unconstitutional, and constitutes an abdication of its solemn constitutional mandate”.
Highlighting the urgency, the plea states:
“Elections are time-bound processes. The harm caused by the misuse of official media for partisan electioneering cannot be undone after the polls… Every day of inaction by the ECI compounds this prejudice”.
Reliefs Sought and Locus
Prathapan, who is contesting from the Manaloor Assembly constituency in the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections, argues that the broadcast created an uneven electoral field, violating his fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
The petition seeks directions to the ECI to issue a show-cause notice, conduct a time-bound inquiry into the alleged violation of Section 123(7), and direct the Union of India to remove the broadcast from official platforms.
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