Elections 2021: Allahabad HC says EC, government, higher courts failed to fathom disastrous consequences of conducting polls amid pandemic

The court also highlighted in its order how the coronavirus infections have reached villages in the state as the panchayat elections added to the surge.

The Allahabad High Court said that by holding the panchayat chunav in Uttar Pradesh and assembly elections in other states, the Election Commission, higher courts and the government failed to fathom the disastrous consequences of the polls. Hearing a petition from a builder seeking protection from arrest, a single-judge bench of Justice Siddharth Verma made the observations while granting protection from arrest till January 2022 on special grounds. A case was filed against the Ghaziabad-based builder by UP Police over an alleged property possession default.

Specifying the special grounds, the court said that the apprehension of death on account of reasons like the present pandemic of novel coronavirus can certainly be held to be a ground for grant of anticipatory bail. The court also highlighted in its order how the coronavirus infections have reached villages in the state as the panchayat elections added to the surge.

The court observed that the state lacks preparation and resources for controlling the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The court added that due to the recent panchayat elections, a large number of FIRs have been registered in the villages. The judge said that keeping in view the overall situation of the villages after the panchayat elections, a large number of accused persons may be infected and their infection may have gone undetected.

The Allahabad High Court had yesterday expressed its displeasure over the compensation amount offered by the EC and the UP government to the officials who died while performing poll duty. The court asked the EC and the state government to reconsider the compensation amount and increase it to the tune of Rs 1 crore.

The Centre and the Election Commission have been under fire from opposition and High Courts for holding polls, ignoring the threat of a second wave of COVID-19.