Supreme Court tells Centre to decide on NRI voting rights within one week
The Election Commission had earlier said that it could allow non-resident Indians to vote within three months of the law being passed.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Centre to submit its plan on how it intends to allow non-resident Indians to vote in elections, PTI reported. The apex court also asked whether the Centre will amend the law or rules that allow voting rights to NRIs, giving it week to decide.
Earlier this month, the Election Commission had told the Centre that it can initiate the process of granting voting rights for NRIs within three months of the law being introduced, the Hindustan Times had reported. Nasim Zaidi, who was the chief election commissioner at the time, had said that the poll panel was ready to implement the one-way postal ballot system, if the government was to allow it.
The law will allow more than 10 million NRIs to vote in the country’s elections without having to be physically present at the poling stations.