CHENNAI: The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday informed the Madras High Court that people with disabilities (PwD) and those aged above 80 years would be given five days’ time to apply for voting through postal ballots after elections for the Tamil Nadu Assembly is notified. The final list of such voters will be made available to all political parties.
The submission was made in response to a batch of pleas moved by the DMK and others challenging the Constitutional validity of the amendments made to the Conduct of Election Rules under the Representation of People Act and subsequent notifications to facilitate voting through ballots for PwD and elderly.
The petitioners claimed that newly-added section 60 (c) of the Representation of People Act went against the basic spirit of the Constitution in as much as it violates secrecy in voting guaranteed in direct elections, which is a sine qua non for ensuring free and fair elections. “Secrecy in voting is guaranteed in the Act, which forms the fundamental foundation for free and fair polls and establishing a parliamentary democracy,” the petitioners said.
“Section 60 (c) permits the executive to entitle any person for postal ballots, allowing them to skip visiting the polling booth and escape political parties’ audit. Therefore, such unbridled power is antithesis and arbitrary to law and is liable to be quashed,” they added.
Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy recorded the submissions and directed the ECI to file an affidavit by February 22, detailing when a list of such persons will be made available to political parties.