India News | Approach Supreme Court Seeking More Time to Hold Civic Polls: Madras HC
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Madras High Court on Monday wondered as to why the parties in the case seeking to defer the election to the urban local bodies in Tamil Nadu, should not approach the Supreme Court with a plea to extend the time limit beyond January 27.
Chennai, Jan 24 (PTI) The Madras High Court on Monday wondered as to why the parties in the case seeking to defer the election to the urban local bodies in Tamil Nadu, should not approach the Supreme Court with a plea to extend the time limit beyond January 27.
If they are agreeable, the petitioners could move the Apex Court seeking the postponement of the polls, as it was the SC which had stipulated the time limit, the first bench of Acting Chief Justice M N Bhandari and Justice P D Audikesavalu said.
Also Read | Bihar Shocker: Man Kills Wife After She Gives Birth to Baby Girl.
The judges, however, clarified they could not ask the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (TNSEC) to approach the SC for time extension, as it had already decided to conduct the polls by following Covid-19 protocols and guidelines.
Even the election to the state Assembly was held as per schedule in April, 2021, amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Why not the election to the local bodies now, they wondered.
Earlier, petitioner's senior lawyer pointed out to the bench that his client cannot move the Apex Court, as he was not a party in that case. On the other hand, the TN State Election Commission can approach SC and seek more time to conduct the local body polls, he added.
The PILs from Dr M Nakkeeran, former Joint Director of the Health department and another, prayed the court to postpone the elections to urban local bodies in view of the spurt in Covid-19 cases due to the third wave.
The petitioners had contended that the SEC was not taking stock of the ground reality on the surging Covid virus infections. It had not even reviewed the number of containment zones in the places where the polls were proposed to be held.
The safety of the citizens would be at stake if the polls were conducted and no harm would be caused if it was postponed beyond two months, when the situation eased or improved. When the Supreme Court had set the deadline for holding the polls, the pandemic situation then was different. In the interest of public health and safety, the polls should be deferred, they added.
TNSEC counsel had submitted that the poll notification ought to be issued by January 27 as per the orders of the Supreme Court. All precautionary measures and standard operating procedures that were in place following issuance of a notification earlier for holding the elections to the local bodies in rural areas, would be strictly enforced now too, he had added.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)