New Delhi, Jan 31 The Supreme Court on Friday granted additional time to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to file its affidavit in a petition challenging the poll body's decision to increase the number of electors per polling station from 1,200 to 1,500.
A bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar granted three more weeks to the ECI to file its affidavit after additional time was sought by the counsel appearing on the poll body’s behalf.
The bench also ordered the ECI to preserve the video footage of polling stations in upcoming elections as maintained earlier.
On December 2, the top court had called for an affidavit from the ECI on its move to increase the number of electors per polling station from 1,200 to 1,500.
Asking the poll body to explain the rationale behind taking such a step, the SC had remarked that no voter coming to a polling station for the exercise of the franchise should be troubled.
"File a short affidavit explaining the position, we are concerned that no voter should be troubled," it had said.
The public interest litigation (PIL) filed before the apex court challenged the "irrational, unreasonable, and manifestly arbitrary" decision of the ECI which would result in exclusion in voting, particularly of the underprivileged daily wagers who have to report to work.
"The writ petition seeks to safeguard the essential interests of the ‘Principle of Democracy’, the principles that elections must not only be free and fair but also be seen to be free and fair and on the principles of equal participation of electors in the election process," it said.
The plea added that the impact of the impugned decision is likely to be more pronounced in rural areas where transportation facilities are often inadequate and increased travel time to reach the polling station, coupled with the likelihood of longer queues, could discourage many rural voters from participating in the electoral process. It said that the practice of increasing the upper limit per polling station is nothing but "voter disenfranchisement", or the systematic exclusion of certain groups of people from the electoral process, thereby undermining the principles of fair and free elections, having a disparate impact on marginalised communities and low-income groups, particularly daily wagers, rickshaw pullers, maids, drivers, vendors, etc. for whom long waiting hours result in deprivation of wages.
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