Stating that COVID-19 cannot be a ground for postponing the Bihar elections, the Supreme Court on August 28 refused to entertain a PIL seeking to defer the Assembly polls till the State was free from the virus.
The Election Commission of India will take everything into account, a Bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan said.
The Bench, also comprising Justices R.S. Reddy and M.R. Shah, said it was a premature petition as no notification for the Assembly polls had been issued yet.
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.