A Calcutta High Court judge while hearing a petition filed at her Bench against the restrictions imposed on two-wheelers by the Election Commission of India (ECI) questioned whether the body had such powers to issue such restrictions.
Calcutta High Court
A Calcutta High Court judge while hearing a petition filed at her Bench against the restrictions imposed on two-wheelers by the Election Commission of India (ECI) questioned whether the body had such powers to issue such restrictions.
Justice Krishna Rao observed on Thursday that the restrictions placed by the ECI on the usage of two-wheelers “curbed the rights of the common normal people who use two-wheelers.”
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“In which other state have you passed such an order? Tell me. What is the rationale behind stopping the use of two-wheelers during elections,” Justice Rao said in the court.
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She also wondered whether ECI had the power to issue such a “restrictive order.”
A petition challenging the restrictions imposed by the Election Commission of India on the use of two-wheelers in the run up to and the days of the West Bengal elections has been filed at the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday.
The petition was filed in the court of Calcutta High Court Justice Krishna Rao. The petitioner, advocate Ratnankar Das, has filed the petition challenging the ECO directive that imposed blanket restrictions on the usage of two-wheelers.
Two-wheelers are one of the most preferred modes of transport among a section of office goers and forms the backbone of the app-based gig economy including food, deliveries, bike taxis and are also used to deliver parcels across the state.
The ECI had released a set of strict limitations on the usage of two-wheelers both during the run up as well as during the days of election.
The restrictions bar motorcycle rallies of any sort 48 hours before the election date.
Apart from this, the guidelines state that two-wheelers can only be used between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. and there are restrictions in carrying pillion riders.
On the poll dates of 23 and 29 April, two-wheelers are to be used in the same time period barring cases of medical emergencies or to cast one’s vote.
There are relaxations for dropping children to school as well.
According to the notification two-wheeler riders need prior approval from their local police station to use them for needs beyond the reasons specified in the guidelines.
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