SC refuses to entertain plea by a 78-year-old bedridden woman seeking to cast her vote by postal ballot

New Delhi, May 20 The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea filed by a 78-year-old bedridden woman seeking to exercise her right to vote through postal ballot in the ongoing 2024 general elections.

A bench of Justices Bela M. Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal said that the petition has turned infructuous in view of the EVM voting held on May 7 in Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur constituency.

The plea, filed through advocate Pranav Sachdeva, said that the petitioner, who is suffering from severe osteoarthritis in both knees and therefore unable to stand or move, and also having been bedridden for the last 3 months, should be allowed to cast her vote by postal ballot.

In an order passed on May 6, a bench of Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey of the Chhattisgarh High Court rejected the application for interim relief, saying that issuance and collection of a postal ballot cannot be completed within 24 hours.

The special leave petition said that the impugned order passed by the high court was "erroneous" because it closed the right to vote of a 78-year-old bedridden petitioner.

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