New Delhi: The Madras High Court on Friday refused to restrain the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission from notifying the urban local body polls and deferred hearing on public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to postpone the elections due to the third Covid wave till January 24.
Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice PD Audikesavalu, while hearing the plea urging the elections to be deferred till the Covid situation improves, said that the notification hasn’t been issued yet but it could be issued anytime, according to a report on news agency ANI.
Senior counsel S Prabakaran, representing retired joint director of Health Department Dr M Nakkeeran, one of the petitioners, said that elections should be postponed in the light of a surge in Covid cases and that nothing is going to be lost if the urban local body polls are delayed.
Charging the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission of not taking stock of the ground situation on the spike in Covid cases ahead of gearing up for the polls, Prabakaran said that the State Election Commission had not even reviewed the number of containment zones in the places where the elections are proposed to be held.
Senior counsel Prabakaran further said that the safety and the life of the people in Tamil Nadu is involved in the matter and demanded the elections to be postponed by at least two months till the Covid situation gets better.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission said that it has already given an undertaking to the Supreme Court of notifying the urban local body elections before January 26 this year and that the protocols have been brought in place to control the Covid situation in the state.
Citing technical difficulties that might arise over video call, the Chief Justice of Madras High Court adjourned the case scheduling the next hearing date on Monday.