EC apologises before Guj HC on issue of vehicles for poll duty

Election Commission (EC) today tendered an oral apology to the Gujarat High Court on the issue of requisitioning of vehicles by it for the poll work, following which court reserved its verdict on the PIL challenging EC action.

The division bench of Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala today reserved its verdict on the PIL which had challenged the EC action of on-the-spot requisitioning of private vehicles for poll duty during the just concluded polling for the state Assembly elections.

One Ashok Munishwar Giri had filed the PIL through advocate Harshil Dholakia claiming that vehicles were being requisitioned by authorities "in a very unjust manner" for poll duty.

The PIL also expressed unhappiness over the remuneration being paid by the EC to the owner of the particular vehicles requisitioned and used for the poll work. "People were asked to vacate their vehicles on the spot causing so much inconvenience. And moreover, the remuneration offered by EC was totally unjust compared to the amount being spent on the vehicle by the owners," Dholakia had argued.

Today, the advocate appearing for EC tendered an oral apology for the inconvenience caused to the owners of such vehicles and also requested direction from the court in regard to the remunerations.

Meanwhile, the state government has submitted before the court that it has also issued a fresh resolution for new rates of remuneration which would be paid to the owners whose vehicles were taken for the poll work.

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