COVID-19 no ground for stopping elections: SC on Bihar polls

New Delhi, Aug 28: Stating that COVID-19 cannot be a ground for postponing the Bihar elections, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a PIL seeking to defer the assembly polls till the state is free of the novel coronavirus.

The Election Commission of India will consider everything, a bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said.

The bench, also comprising Justices R S Reddy and M R Shah, said it is a premature petition as no notification for the assembly polls has been issued till now.

"Covid cannot be a ground for stopping elections and interfering with the powers of the Election Commission," the Supreme Court said, also calling the petition "premature" as there was no notification announcing Bihar poll dates.

"This court cannot tell the Chief Election Commissioner what to do. He (CEC) will consider everything," the judges said.

The petitioner, Avinash Thakur, had sought a direction to the Chief Election Commissioner to postpone the polls due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the ground that the Representation of the People Act provides for the deferment of polls in extraordinary situations.