The Allahabad High Court has requested the Election Commission to postpone the upcoming Uttar Pradesh assembly elections by a month or two.
It also requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ban election-related gatherings in the state and think about postponing state elections over fears of the highly contagious Covid variant Omicron.
The court made the observation while hearing an unconnected bail petition.
A Bench of Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, while allowing the bail application of a petitioner in a case, said the number of patients infected with Omicron are increasing and there is a possibility of a third wave.
The court said countries like China, Netherlands, and Germany have imposed complete or partial lockdowns due to the rising cases.
During the second wave, the country saw lakhs of people getting infected by coronavirus and many people had died contracting the disease, the HC said.
“If rallies are not stopped, results will be worse than the second wave,” Justice Shekhar Yadav said
The court judge on the delay of UP Elections:
“Gram Panchayat elections and the Bengal assembly elections infected a lot of people, which caused many deaths as well,” the judge said.
He pointed out that political parties are organising rallies and gatherings for the upcoming UP assembly elections and following Covid protocols in such events is impossible.
The court requested the Election Commission of India to immediately stop such rallies and gatherings and also order political parties to campaign through TV channels and newspapers.
The court said, if possible, the elections that are expected to be held in February next year could be postponed by a couple of months because only if there is life, then the election rallies and meetings can take place and the right to life has also been given under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.