Allahabad HC Seeks Response From Election Commission In Plea For Online Nomination Of Candidates For Panchayat Election [Read Order]

A Division Bench comprised of Justices SK Gupta and Shamim Ahmed has asked the State Government as well as the Election Commission to file their counter affidavits in the matter within two weeks.

The petition has been filed by Advocate Gopal Krishna Pandey to ensure social distancing norms during the election period. He has submitted:

"It is a general practice during the elections, that contesting candidates gather/ collect large number of supporters to show their strength at the time of the filing of nomination paper and reach at the nomination/ election office in the form of procession.

That under these dire circumstances if the respondents allow contesting candidates in Panchayat Election for physical filing of nomination paper, the condition of social distancing would certainly be breached/ violated."

He has therefore sought apposite amendments to Rule 13, 16, 17,18 and 19 of UP Kshetra Panchayat and Zila Panchayat (Election of Members) Rules, 1994.

Other grounds pleaded by the Petitioner to allow filing of nomination online are thus:

• The State is already facing acute shortage of Police Personal and Security Forces as per the standard ratio/ requirement on the basis of the population and during the physical filing of nomination papers, uncontrolled crowd is collected and administration has to arrange special facilities for that, such as barricading of roads, posting of extra security forces etc.
• During physical filing of nomination paper, due to uncontrolled crowd the traffic and movement of common citizens is badly effected.
• If the online filing of nomination paper by the contesting candidates is allowed, the same will also save the time and money of the State and as well as contesting candidates.
• The nomination office is generally situated out of the territorial constituencies of the contesting candidates and no useful purpose is served to the contesting candidates to take a long procession out of the territorial constituencies.

The matter is now listed for hearing on September 22.

Case Title: Gopal Krishna Pandey v. State of UP & Anr.

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