Electoral officers burdened after HC order to EC

Chandigarh, May 23 The Punjab and Haryana High Court order, directing the State Election Commission to decide on various gram panchayat-related representations by May 24 has left district election officers-cum-DCs with loads of work to finish in just a day. In wake of the directions, the state EC has directed all the district electoral officers to conduct summary enquiries and decide upon the issues raised in the representations and civil writ petitions on gram panchayat elections.
A spokesperson said the question raised in the writ petition was whether the nomination papers of the petitioners had been validly entertained or rejected or otherwise. He said the directions by the HC for deciding the matter by May 24 would be very difficult to implement if all the relevant records were summoned by the State Election Commission, as these officers are currently engaged in the conduct of gram panchayat elections scheduled for May 26. Therefore, summoning them to the State Election Commission with the relevant records and ensuring their presence at state headquarters would adversely impact the conduct of panchayat elections.
He said it would be feasible for the district electoral officers to summon the relevant record from the returning officers in the field and conduct a summary inquiry and decide upon the issues raised in the representations and civil writ petitions by petitioners. He said in case the district electoral officer or the officer nominated by him concludes that the purity and sanctity of the election process has been vitiated or violated, he would have the authority to countermand the poll. The State EC would accord ex-part-facto approval.
Express News Service
Posted online: Saturday , May 24, 2008 at 02:20:23Updated: Saturday , May 24, 2008 at 02:20:23