Election Commission on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to consider urgently its plea for a direction to release EVMs, lying unused after Assembly polls in five states and Puducherry following an order, extending limitation period for filing petitions in view of Covid-19 pandemic.
The poll body sought fixing a timeline for filing election petitions in connection with polls held in Assam, Kerala, Delhi, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, as polls in other states are scheduled next year.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the EC, said, "We have to maintain these EVMs and VVPAT machines and hearing is necessary as elections in states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab are coming up”.
A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and A S Bopanna agreed to fix the matter for hearing next week.
The top court on April 27, taking into account the onset of second Covid wave, had relaxed the statutory period for filing petitions, including the election petitions, under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
“As a result of the statutory provisions/rules, the relevant instructions issued by the Election Commission of India and the order passed by this court, the Election Commission is unable to use a substantial number of EVMs," the EC said in its plea.
This is a cause for concern for it as it is scheduled to conduct Assembly elections in a few states -- Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh -- next year, it further pointed out.
(Published 01 September 2021, 10:41 IST)
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