Court rejects NC plea on poll dates

NEW DELHI, Feb 10: The Supreme Court today rejected a petition by the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) seeking a direction to the ...

NEW DELHI, Feb 10: The Supreme Court today rejected a petition by the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) seeking a direction to the Election Commission to advance polling date in three constituencies in the state from March seven to March two.

The ruling National Conference had contended that if polls were to be held as scheduled in the Parliamentary constituencies of Baramulla, Anantnag and Udhampur on March 7, voters in the Valley would be influenced by the results of the counting of votes beginning across the country on March 2.

The petition moved by NC member and Union Environment Minister Saifuddin Soz, had alternatively pleaded that the Commission should be asked by the court to start counting of votes across the country from March 8 instead of March 2, as originally scheduled.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi, Justice B N Kirpal and Justice M Srinivasan, which heard senior counsel F S Nariman for Soz and Kapil Sibal and Lalit Bhasin for the Election Commissionfor thirty minutes, dismissed the petition observing that the “court cannot interfere with the election process at this stage.”

In his argument, Sibal pointed out that during several other occasions in the past the Commission had separated polling dates for Jammu and Kashmir from the rest of the country.

Such changes, he said, were not made by the Commission on its own but after detailed consultations with Home Ministry officials.

Sibal said the situation in the Valley was very fluid and just yesterday there had been a bomb alert in Srinagar. If the situation changed for the worse, the Commission may have to postpone the poll in the town, he said.

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The senior counsel said even if one were to accept the demand of the National Conference for postponing counting to March 8, the country would have to defray the cost of crores of rupees.

“All I want to state before the court is that the matter of polling dates is an intricate arrangement woven into security aspects and this decision was best left tothe Election Commission to decide in the interests of the country,” Sibal said.

Nariman, however, argued that the Commission had failed to consider the sensibilities of the people of the state causing prejudice to them. The Commission was a constitutional authority and must act reasonably, he said.Meanwhile,Chief Election Commissioner M S Gill today advocated a “temporary, absolutely neutral administration” at the state level in the run up to general elections to ensure a level-playing field for all political parties.

“The commission cannot go on fire-fighting,” he said observing that such a move would not end accusations of bias by non-ruling parties.