By Ashraf Padanna/Thiruvananthapuram
The Supreme Court yesterday ruled that absentee voting was not possible for the diaspora during the ongoing elections and posted a plea with the demand for further hearing after the elections.
The court accepted the Election Commission’s argument that it was not possible for a review as the staggered polls were already in progress and an amendment was required in the election law, lawyers appearing for the petitioner said.
The petitioner, Dr Shamseer V P, a UAE-based entrepreneur, had moved the court demanding e-vote or postal ballot facility.
The apex court bench of K S Radhakrishnan and Vikramajit Sen observed that a detailed hearing was required on the subject and the possibility of allowing absentee ballot for resident Indians should also be considered.
The court had on Monday enquired whether it could be possible to allow registered voters to cast e-vote or postal ballot before the end of the last phase of polling on May 14.
The commission’s attorney told the court that the e-vote issue, both legal and technical, was under the consideration of the panel formed to study the matter.
Despite providing the online registration option for the diaspora, poll authorities received less than 14,000 valid applications, 12,653 of these from Kerala.
The court, which began the hearing on the petition last month, had termed the disenfranchisement of more than 10mn citizens living abroad as “a serious matter of concern” and wondered why the matter had taken so long to reach the court.
“This is a good beginning and going by the positive comments made by the court, we are just a step away from having the right to exercise our franchise established,” said Dr Shamseer who questioned the discrimination against a large section of population.
As per the official data, 10,037,761 Indians live abroad and are entitled to register online and vote only if they are present in their constituencies at the time of elections. They are also allowed to register online and send their documents for verification by post to be able to vote here.
However, most of them abstain as they are not sure of being able to vote due to restrictions.
A pro-government group chartered a flight for 147 registered voters from the UAE this week and a few managed to travel to vote on their own.
According to Dr Shamseer, the court appeared to have been convinced that e-voting - allowing expatriates to cast their vote from the comforts of their home using a high security password - was easier and effective as a foolproof system.
While welcoming the court move, Kerala’s Congress-led government announced it would explore the possibility of allowing e-voting in the civic polls next year.