A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking steps to prevent persons in inebriated state from casting vote..The petition has been filed by an activist and president of the NGO Tamilnad Telugu Yuva Sakthi, Kethireddy Jagadeeswar Reddy, through Advocate Ananth Narayana MG..In this petition, where the Election Commission of India has been made one of the parties, the petitioner has sought issuing of directions for installation of breath analysers at polling booths to prevent persons in an inebriated state from casting votes..The petition submits that alcohol and other intoxicating substances are often distributed on a large scale during the election season as a means to garner votes. The Election Commission of India (EC) is aware of the problem of alcohol being used as a bribe and is trying to curb the practice..“The distribution of alcohol as a bribe to manipulate voters is a phenomenon that has been widely reported upon. However, liquor politics continues to be a rampant phenomenon that threatens the very tenets of free and fair elections”.However, it is submitted that there is a lack of safeguards to monitor this practice at the receiving end and that the officials are not equipped to check for intoxicated persons at polling stations. Additionally, it is also added that the existing system contains a lacuna which does not provide for the capacity of a voter which needs to be addressed..“It is imperative that this lacuna is addressed by way of guidelines that govern the treatment of intoxicated persons in the context of voting.”.Thus, the petition seeks directions for all polling stations to be equipped with breath analysers and other such instruments that can check against intoxicated persons from casting their votes..Appropriate guidelines have also been sought to be framed to ensure that no person casting his/her vote is in an inebriated state..The petition is likely to be come up before the Apex Court next week after the Court re-opens..Read Petition:
A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking steps to prevent persons in inebriated state from casting vote..The petition has been filed by an activist and president of the NGO Tamilnad Telugu Yuva Sakthi, Kethireddy Jagadeeswar Reddy, through Advocate Ananth Narayana MG..In this petition, where the Election Commission of India has been made one of the parties, the petitioner has sought issuing of directions for installation of breath analysers at polling booths to prevent persons in an inebriated state from casting votes..The petition submits that alcohol and other intoxicating substances are often distributed on a large scale during the election season as a means to garner votes. The Election Commission of India (EC) is aware of the problem of alcohol being used as a bribe and is trying to curb the practice..“The distribution of alcohol as a bribe to manipulate voters is a phenomenon that has been widely reported upon. However, liquor politics continues to be a rampant phenomenon that threatens the very tenets of free and fair elections”.However, it is submitted that there is a lack of safeguards to monitor this practice at the receiving end and that the officials are not equipped to check for intoxicated persons at polling stations. Additionally, it is also added that the existing system contains a lacuna which does not provide for the capacity of a voter which needs to be addressed..“It is imperative that this lacuna is addressed by way of guidelines that govern the treatment of intoxicated persons in the context of voting.”.Thus, the petition seeks directions for all polling stations to be equipped with breath analysers and other such instruments that can check against intoxicated persons from casting their votes..Appropriate guidelines have also been sought to be framed to ensure that no person casting his/her vote is in an inebriated state..The petition is likely to be come up before the Apex Court next week after the Court re-opens..Read Petition:
