The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday, 5 May, refused to change the poll timings for Ramzan. The poll body rejected a plea seeking to reschedule the commencement of polling from 7 am to 4:30 am stating it will not be feasible, ANI reported.
“Commission does not find it feasible to alter the existing hours of poll for the 5th, 6th and 7th phase of general elections to the Lok Sabha, 2019,” the EC stated.
The Supreme Court had on Thursday, 2 May, directed the Election Commission to take a call on a plea seeking to advance the voting timing to 5 am for the remaining phases of the Lok Sabha election due to heat waves and Ramzan.
The petition was filed by advocates Mohammed Nizamuddin Pasha and Asad Hayat, who mentioned it for urgent hearing before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. The bench had asked the counsel appearing for the poll body to take a decision on the issue.
“The petitioners pray for a direction to the Election Commission of India to extend the polling hours during the fifth, sixth and seventh phases of the ongoing general election, 2019 on 6 May, 12 May and 19 May, respectively, by 2-2.5 hours so as to commence at 4:30/5 AM (instead of the notified time of 7 AM) on account of the unprecedented heat waves prevailing in several parts of the country and the onset of the holy month of Ramzan,” the plea said.
The EC had set up a committee of officers to hear out the petitioner and take a call.
A functionary said besides being tiring for poll staff, such a move was not practical.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)
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