SC dismisses plea of woman to cast vote through postal ballot in Lok Sabha polls
May 20, 2024
New Delhi [India], May 20 : The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea filed by a 78-year-old bedridden woman seeking direction to the Election Commission of India to have her vote cast through the postal ballot in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
A vacation bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi Pankaj Mithal rejected the plea of the woman from Chhattisgarh.
The woman had initially filed a petition before the Chhattisgarh High Court seeking a direction for the issuance of the postal ballot considering her age and ailments to cast her vote in the Bilaspur constituency that went to polls on May 7.
On April 29, the High Court allowed her to make an application before the returning officer concerned and directed the authority to consider her claim strictly in accordance with the law.
She told the top court that she had made an application before the returning officer for the issuance of postal ballot, but it was rejected on May 1.
Her advocate told the bench that she had again approached the High Court seeking a grant of interim relief. The High Court rejected her application on May 6, saying that the polling date was May 7 and the instructions issued by the ECI with regard to the issuance of the postal ballot and its collection cannot be completed in 24 hours.
Thereafter, a woman approached the top court, challenging the May 6 High Court order.
The bench said today that the application has become infructuous as the polling date was May 7.
Her advocate told the bench that according to Rule 27(I) of the Conduct of Election Rules, postal ballots can be received anytime before the date of counting votes, which is scheduled for June 4.
The apex court, however, declined, saying that even for postal ballots, some time is fixed.
"That procedure has to be followed if it is fixed. That procedure has to be followed if some time period is fixed for postal ballots," said the bench to the petitioner's counsel.
It was further observed that the woman had not even produced the benchmark disability certificate.
"Everybody would like to sit home and cast a vote. We are not entertaining this plea," it said.
