The AP High Court has rejected a plea from the YSR Congress Party regarding new rules for counting postal ballot votes.
Justices Kiranmayi Mandava and Nyaypathy Vijay advised the party to file an election petition rather than seeking a writ jurisdiction remedy.
“The writ plea is disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to pursue remedies in a properly framed election petition,” stated the Court.
The YSR Congress had argued that the Election Commission of India (ECI) changed the rules unfairly.
They said the new rules allow postal ballots to be counted without following the old requirements, which included the name and designation of the attesting officer on Form 13 A. Now, only the officer’s signature is needed.
Senior Counsel Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the YSR Congress, contended that the ECI improperly changed the statutory norms.
On the other hand, Senior Advocate Avinash Desai for the ECI argued that the relaxed rules do not apply to all postal ballots.
The High Court had reserved its decision on this matter the previous day, but now they have rejected the plea spelling of bad news for YSRCP.
