SC asks EC to decide plea seeking re-scheduling of voting time during Ramzan

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission to decide a plea seeking advancing of the start of polling by two hours to 5 a.m. in view of Ramzan coinciding with the remaining three phases of the Lok Sabha polls and due to heat conditions in Rajasthan and other areas.

The direction was given by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on a petition filed by Delhi-based lawyer Mohammad Nizam Pasha.

The bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, asked the poll body to pass appropriate orders.

Advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for Pasha, sought that the polling in the remaining three phases should begin from 5 a.m. instead of the scheduled time of 7 a.m. since the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan will begin shortly.

She said that the meteorological department has also forecast a heat wave during that period and therefore the voting process cannot be extended in the evening.