HC to hear DMK’s appeal over postal ballots today

The DMK on Thursday complained to the Madras High Court against the collection of postal votes from ‘absentee voters’ even before a list of such voters could be provided to recognised political parties. Absentee voters include those aged above 80, people with disabilities, persons employed in essential services and COVID-19 patients, who have chosen to vote through postal ballot.

Making a mention before Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, senior counsel R. Shunmugasundaram and R. Viduhthalai said the court on March 16 directed the Election Commission of India to furnish ‘absentee voters’ list to all parties before March 29. But even before the order could be complied with, the collection of postal votes had begun in Chennai and would soon begin in Vellore, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts, they said.

The Chief Justice asked the counsel to file appropriate petitions in that regard and agreed to hear them on Friday. Immediately, DMK’s organisation secretary R.S. Bharathi filed two writ petitions. One of them sought to restrain the ECI from commencing collection of postal votes before issuing a list of absentee voters to parties and another insisted upon permitting representatives of candidates to affix their signatures on the cover of the postal ballots.

The petitioner said affixing such signatures would help prevent malpractice. The litigant said the Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner gave an interview to the media on Wednesday, stating that collection of postal votes from absentee voters would begin on Thursday and be completed by March 31, and that 70 teams had been formed for this.

The petitioner claimed to have reliably learnt that the collection of postal votes was to commence in 16 Assembly constituencies in Chennai, five constituencies in Vellore, four in Kancheepuram and 10 in Tiruvallur from Thursday. Wondering how collection could start without providing a list of such voters to parties, he said complaints had been made to the Returning Officers concerned.