NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to examine whether e-voting system could be introduced in the electoral system under which a person who resides outside his constituency can cast a vote electronically. The court did so after initially a bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justices A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian expressed reservations in entertaining the PIL, asking how can a person, who resides outside his constituency, claim to cast his vote.
“If a person chooses to remain out of his constituency then there is no denial of voting. How can one stay in USA and say that he wants to vote in Kerala. Why should law help you if you are not concerned about voting and remain outside,” the court said and asked the petitioner to approach the Centre and Election Commission on the issue.
Times View
: In India, millions are unable to cast their votes, since they are employed or studying far away from home. The goal ofany democracy should be to help every citizen engage with the electoral process. E-voting, for which as this newspaper has been campaigning for the last two years, will surely help in the endeavour to retrieve these “lost votes.”
Advocate Kaleeswaram Raj, appearing for the petitioner, however, contended that use of technology could facilitate e-voting. Complimenting the judiciary for bringing about a “technological revolution” by conducting proceedings through video-conferencing during Covid-19 pandemic, he said the SC did a commendable work and lawyers are arguing cases without physical presence and e-voting could also be easily adopted with the use of technology.
So far postal ballots are allowed for armed forces personnel and the elderly. The PIL was filed by Kerala-based K Sathyan who moved the court through his lawyer Nishe Shonker. She said there is provision of voting through postal ballots but it is limited to afew categories of persons and its benefit is not extended to classes like internal migrant labourers, students and NRIs.