HC asks Election Commission to monitor voter allotment for panchayat polls

HYDERABAD: Keeping the gram panchayat elections in mind, the High Court on Friday directed the Telangana State Election Commission to exercise its power of superintendence in relation to the electoral rolls drawn up by the district panchayat officers.

The court was looking into allegations about unreasonable allotment of voters in different wards and some other discrepancies in the voters list.

Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar was dealing with the petitions of Mr Mantipalli Durgaiah and his wife Yadamma, their daughter Mamatha, all residents of Chamaloni Bavi at Gurrampod in Nalgonda district. They had challenged the action of the electoral officers in allotting the votes of their family members in different wards.

The petitioners explained that, though they had been residing in the same residence, they were allotted to three different wards. They complained that there was no rationale in allotment of voters for the entire village. Similarly, there were several other instances in the whole village of such unreasonable allotment.

The petitioner's counsel said, “It is reasonable to allot one family living under the same roof to vote to one ward. The allotment of members of the same family to different wards is not only illegal but would also cause severe hardship to the voters. It is the legitimate right of the voters not to face inconvenience in the process of election.”

Justice Sanjay Kumar directed the SEC to inspect the voters list of the said village and to take remedial measures for delineating the ward-wise voters on geographical basis as required under the rules. It also gave the Election Commission the choice to reschedule the election of the gram panchayat, in the event it was not in a position to complete the exercise.