NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday in its order refused to entertain a petition filed by the Andhra Pradesh unit of the Janavahini Party, seeking a breathalyser test of all the voters in the queue at every polling booth during the elections. "Only those voters who are uninfluenced by alcohol should be allowed to exercise their votes," the Janavahini Party said.
"If is more of a publicity interest litigation," the two-judge bench of the top court, led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna and also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, obserevd, and refused to interfere with the Andhra Pradesh High Court order dismissing the petition filed by Janavahini Party.
Initially, the petitioner, Janavahini Party had moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which had dismissed it's plea on February 28, citing "lack of merits and deviod of legalities."
Challenging this order, the Janavahini Party had filed an appeal before the apex court, which had also on Wednesday refused to entertain the same.
The bench of the top court, while rejecting the plea, said, ”What is this? It is for publicity. On polling day it is a dry day and police personnel are deployed everywhere. We will not entertain this."
Lawyer appearing for the Janavahini Party, desperately wanted for a direction from the top court and said since the model code of conduct had alreqdy been imposed, so there should be a direction passed by this court to ensure that no voter should be allowed to vote under the influence of alcohol.
The political party said that it's January 6 representation to the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking some arrangement of a breathing analyser at the entry point of the queue being maintained at every polling booth had not been looked at by the Commission.
The party had also sought direction to the ECI to arrange a breathing analyser at the entry point of queues at polling booths to ensure that only those voters who are free and uninfluenced by liquor, should be allowed to vote only.