Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections | Madras High Court hopes polling will pass off peacefully

‘Guard against adding to COVID-19 surge’

The Madras High Court on Tuesday expressed the hope that April 6, the day of polling for the Assembly election in Tamil Nadu, will pass off peacefully and uneventfully. It also impressed upon the Election Commission of India (ECI) the need to be alert, proactive and “most importantly” ensure that the second surge of COVID-19 does not get accelerated by activities on the day of polling. Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy made the observations while disposing of a petition filed by the DMK seeking directions to the ECI to ensure a free and fair election. They closed the case, having been satisfied with the steps taken by the ECI so far to dispel the fears of the party. Accepting a request by senior counsel P. Wilson, representing the DMK, the judges recorded the submission of the ECI that only M3 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), manufactured between 2017 and 2019, would be used for the election. Machines that were much older would not be used at all since they were not compatible with the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system.