12.4.14

Of NRIs voting....

Hopes of NRIs to cast votes in the ongoing general elections through internet were dashed with the Supreme Court saying that any interim relief at this stage may open a Pandora’s box.
The apex court took into consideration the submission of the Election Commission that grant of interim relief at this stage would be beyond the scope and relief claimed by the petitioners when the polls have already been taken in 104 Lok Sabha seats spreading over 20 states and Union territories.
“After polls, is it possible? Will it not open a Pandora’s box. If some consideration is given, practical difficulty will arise,” a bench comprising Justice K S Radhakrishnan and Justice Vikramajit Sen said while noting that on Thursday only polls have taken place in many parts of the country, including Kerala and incidentally many of the petitioners before it were from the southern state.
However, the bench decided to thoroughly deliberate on the demand for extending the right of voting through electronic format of internet to NRIs registered as voters in different places in the country.
It issued notices and asked the Centre and the Election Commission to file counter affidavits within a month and posted the matter for hearing at the end of August.
The bench also asked the Election Commission to place before it the report of the committee set up by it to “study various available options for the purpose of NRI voting”. 

No comments: