Supreme Court may clear decks for NRI voting on Jan. 12

Close to the heels of the recently concluded Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas, the Supreme Court is set to hear the Central Government's opinion on the feasibility of allowing NRIs voting rights during elections.

The matter, which is coming up for hearing on January 12, comes after a plea to this effect was filed by Pravasi Bharat chairman Nagender Chindam.

"While the government has been providing varied facilities to the Indian diaspora abroad and has thrown open its doors for NRIs to contribute to the economy, fact remains that if these voting rights are allowed, it will give a huge boost to the country on several fronts too," said Chindam.

"We have full faith in our justice system, we are hoping for positive outcome on our case soon," he added.

In the previous hearing, the apex court had asked the Centre to make its stand clear on the Election Commission's proposal for allowing NRIs to cast their votes through proxy voting and e-ballots in polls in India.

An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu granted four weeks' time to the government to respond to the proposal prepared by a 12-member committee led by Vinod Zutshi, Deputy Election Commissioner, for 'Exploring Feasibility of Alternative Options for Voting by Overseas Electors'.

This case was last heard on November 14 last year.