NEW DELHI, August 28: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a petition seeking direction to the Election Commission of India to postpone the elections to the Bihar Assembly due to the prevailing Corona pandemic.
A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan and comprising Justices R S Reddy and M R Shah left it to the Election Commission to decide the Bihar election schedule.
The apex court was hearing a petition filed by one Avinash Thakur, who sought direction to the Chief Election Commissioner to postpone the election till the state was free of Covid-19.
The petitioner had argued that the Representation of Peoples Act allowed deferment in extraordinary situations. The SC, however, said the present situation was not the ground for postponement and that the petition was premature as the EC was yet to announce the schedule for the elections. The poll body already has announced a slew of guidelines for holding elections during the pandemic.
According to the new guidelines only two people can accompany a candidate at the time of filing nomination papers. If a voter, on the day of voting, shows symptoms of virus, the person will be provided a token and will be asked to come back at the last hour of polling. Voters will also be provided hand gloves at the time of signing the register and pressing the EVM button.
(Manas Dasgupta)