The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking a direction to the Election Commission to advance poll timings to 5.30 am from 7 am for the seventh phase of Lok Sabha polls in view of searing heat and the month of Ramzan.
A vacation bench comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna rejected the plea, saying the notified timing of voting are from 7 am to 6 pm and voters can cast vote in the morning also.
“The timings are from 7 am to 6 pm. People can come in the morning to cast their votes. They (EC) will face logistical problem (if timings are advanced),” the bench told advocate Mohammad Nizamuddin Pasha who had filed the petition.
On May 2, a three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had directed the ECI to take an appropriate decision on lawyer Nizamuddin Pasha’s plea for re-scheduling the start of polling to 5 am from 7 am.
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The petitioner had said harsh weather conditions would make it difficult for Muslims to go out and vote.
Polling for the seventh phase of elections will be held on May 19. Counting will be announced on May 23.