Politics
The Commission clarified that the postal ballot papers received by the Returning Officers upto the time fixed for commencement of counting shall be taken into account for counting
Clearing doubts about the time limit of receiving back of the polled postal ballots by the Returning Officers, the Election Commission (EC) of India has clarified that the postal ballot papers received before start of the counting process will be counted.
The Commission stated that the covers containing postal ballot papers received by the Returning Officers upto the time fixed for commencement of counting shall be taken into account for counting as there is no prohibition in law that the votes on postal ballots cannot be recorded or received after the date and time fixed for taking poll at polling stations. However, the EC further clarified that no application for issue of postal ballot paper can be entertained after the preparation of marked copy of electoral roll for use in polling stations.
The Commission while announcing the schedule of general elections to the legislative assemblies of Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Goa had fixed the date and time for counting of votes in all the States at 8.00am on 4 March, 2012, which was subsequently modified and fixed for 8.00am on 6 March, 2012. The same date has been prescribed by the Returning Officers for commencement of counting of votes and the same date and time have been indicated to all eligible electors.
In this regard, the EC also remained about the Supreme Court's judgment in Ajit Singh vs Bansi Singh, whereby, the Court has held that if the date of counting is postponed, then the postal ballots received during this extended period also should be counted.
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