NAGPUR: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Friday issued a notice to the Election Commission of India on a petition by corporator Sandip Joshi. Joshi challenged the EC’s new notification of cancelling the old voters list and adopting a new procedure for graduate constituency assembly polls to be held in June 2008.

A division bench comprising justices Ambadas Joshi and R C Chavan, while directing the respondents to file a reply, fixed the petition for final disposal on October 31.

The other respondents are state election commission, state secretary for general administration and voter registration officer under Nagpur divisional commissioner. The petitioners, including Ghanshyam Rane, Chandrakant Kulkarni and Ashok Likhite, have sought to quash the new notification.

The SEC vide September 26 notification has cancelled the old voters’ list of graduate constituency assembly polls and adopted a new procedure for making new list for the 2008 elections. The petitioner claims this is a violation of the Representation of People’s Act, wherein it is clearly mentioned that the voters list can be updated by adding or deleting names, but not cancelled.

The petitioner argued that there are two clauses in the new notification to be adopted for graduate constituency assembly polls that are attacking legal rights of old graduate voters. As per the notification, there is no provision of renewal of old voters and they have to apply for new registration. Secondly, they have to attach their degree certificate to the registration form as well.

The petitioner informed that for the voters’ list, the voter shouldn’t travel all the way to the election commission’s office to fill the registration form, but it’s the duty of the government to go and fill up the forms from voters by visiting them individually.

The petitioner appealed to the court that since the new list is likely to be prepared by November 5, the decision on the petition should be made at earliest.

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