HC to hear DMK’s appeal over postal ballots today
[ad_1]
The DMK on Thursday complained to the Madras High Court in opposition to the gathering of postal votes from ‘absentee voters’ even earlier than an inventory of such voters may very well be supplied to recognised political events. Absentee voters embody these aged above 80, folks with disabilities, individuals employed in important providers and COVID-19 sufferers, who’ve chosen to vote by way of postal poll.
Making a point out earlier than Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, senior counsel R. Shunmugasundaram and R. Viduhthalai mentioned the courtroom on March 16 directed the Election Commission of India to furnish ‘absentee voters’ listing to all events earlier than March 29. But even earlier than the order may very well be complied with, the gathering of postal votes had begun in Chennai and would quickly start in Vellore, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts, they mentioned.
The Chief Justice requested the counsel to file applicable petitions in that regard and agreed to hear them on Friday. Immediately, DMK’s organisation secretary R.S. Bharathi filed two writ petitions. One of them sought to restrain the ECI from commencing assortment of postal votes earlier than issuing an inventory of absentee voters to events and one other insisted upon allowing representatives of candidates to affix their signatures on the duvet of the postal ballots.
The petitioner mentioned affixing such signatures would assist forestall malpractice. The litigant mentioned the Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner gave an interview to the media on Wednesday, stating that assortment of postal votes from absentee voters would start on Thursday and be accomplished by March 31, and that 70 groups had been shaped for this.
The petitioner claimed to have reliably learnt that the gathering of postal votes was to start in 16 Assembly constituencies in Chennai, 5 constituencies in Vellore, 4 in Kancheepuram and 10 in Tiruvallur from Thursday. Wondering how assortment might begin with out offering an inventory of such voters to events, he mentioned complaints had been made to the Returning Officers involved.
[ad_2]
