NEW DELHI, Dec 2: The Supreme Court has requested a response from the Election Commission (EC) regarding a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that challenges its recent decision to increase the maximum number of voters allowed per polling station from 1,200 to 1,500, expressing its “concern” over the matter.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar instructed senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing the Election Commission, to submit a brief affidavit justifying the decision.
“Senior advocate Maninder Singh has indicated that the Election Commission will provide a clarification via a short affidavit. This affidavit should be filed within three weeks,” the bench stated.
The court expressed that it is “concerned” and emphasized that no voter should be disenfranchised.
The Election Commission remarked that it consults political parties in every constituency whenever there’s a change in the total number of voters assigned to each electronic voting machine (EVM).
Singh affirmed that voters are always allowed to cast their ballots, even if it exceeds the designated voting time.
The case has been scheduled for further consideration during the week of January 27, 2025, and the EC has been instructed to provide a copy of its affidavit to the petitioner prior to the next hearing.
The PIL, initiated by Indu Prakash Singh, contests two notices issued by the EC in August that escalated the number of voters per polling station throughout India.
Singh argues that this decision to increase the voter limit at polling booths is arbitrary and lacks a data-driven foundation. (Agencies)
