NEW DELHI, Dec 2: The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Election Commission’s response on a PIL challenging its decision to increase the maximum number of voters from 1,200 to 1,500 at every Polling Station, saying no elector should be excluded.
While asking the poll panel to clarify its stand, a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said, “We are concerned. No voter should be excluded.”
The bench therefore directed senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing the poll panel, to file a short affidavit explaining the rationale behind the decision to increase the number of voters per polling station.
“Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the Election Commission, says on instruction that they will explain the position by way of a short affidavit. Let the affidavit be filed within a period of three weeks,” said the bench.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
Singh said the bench knew about the consistent allegations on EVMs, adding, “They will keep on coming. The polling has been happening like this since 2019 and political parties are being consulted before this in every constituency.”
The senior lawyer said polling stations could have multiple polling booths and political parties were consulted in each constituency when the total number of voters was raised per EVM.
Singh further said voters were always permitted to cast their votes, even beyond the prescribed time.
The bench, which will hear the matter on January 27, 2025, asked the EC to provide a copy of its affidavit to the petitioner before the next date of hearing.
The PIL, filed by Indu Prakash Singh, challenged two communications issued by the EC in August, increasing the number of voters per polling station in each constituency across India.
The plea said the decision to increase the number of voters per polling booth was arbitrary and not based on any data.(PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
