Covid-19 no ground for postponing Bihar polls: SC

Dismissing a plea seeking postponement of Bihar elections over COVID-19 and floods, the Supreme Court pronounced that coronavirus crisis cannot be a valid reason for stopping elections.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a petition seeking postponement of Bihar elections amid the COVID pandemic and asked the petitioner to approach the Election Commission of India for his prayers. The apex court said that polls cannot be postponed over the coronavirus pandemic.

The bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan was hearing a petition which sought directions to postpone the October assembly elections till the situation normalises from Covid-19. The petitioner had contended that the state has also been affected by flood and in such a case it will pose great risks to the health of the people if they gather.

"Election Commission will take care of all situations and they are bound to take care," the court said. The court also observed that it is a premature petition as no notification has been issued yet and Covid-19 is not a valid reason to postpone the elections.

The plea sought directions that Election Commission be directed not to recommend to the State of Bihar to publish notification of election in official gazette till February or until the competent authority declares Bihar as Covid-19 and flood free.

It said that Election Commission has shown complete "unawareness" of the extraordinary circumstances and prohibition in the whole country and more particularly the constituencies which are likely to go for polls.

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"The court cannot tell the Chief Election Commissioner what to do. He (CEC) will consider everything," the judges said. Calling it a 'premature decision', the apex body asked, "How can we ask Election Commissioner to postpone the elections? No such notification has been issued. Coronavirus pandemic is not a valid reason for the postponement of the election.

"By deciding to hold elections during a pandemic, the Election Commission of India has ignored the population of states like Bihar whereby the population is above 9.9 crores and it can't adopt targeted measures for older voters who are more vulnerable to COVID-19. Options like proxy voters under a well established legal framework, postal voting, and mobile ballot boxes can not be explored and implemented in such a short span of time," the plea added.

Saying that Bihar has over one lakh COVID-19 cases, the plea said that holding elections will only contribute to spreading the virus in the state.

The plea further sought directions that Bihar government be directed to ensure proper facilities to its residents without focusing on the upcoming election. It also asked that the Election Commission be directed to decide on his representation.

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Advocate argued that the Representation of People's Act allows to defer elections in case of an extraordinary situation but the court refused to entertain and said it is for the ECI to decide. Petitioner also argued that the life of human is paramount and not the election. Even the MLAs are dying, added the petitioner.

SC told petitioner Avinash Thakur that EC will take all necessary precautions while conducting polls. "EC will take care of every situation and no writ can be applied like this," it added.

With ANI inputs