Young voters move SC seeking Prez rule in Telangana

​New Delhi: A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court by 'young voters' of Telangana who will be deprived of their voting rights because of the dissolution of the Assembly and advancement of the elections in the state seeking President's Rule in the state.

The petitioners maintained that those who have attained 18 years of age now and those who would be 18 by January 5 next year will not be in a position to vote because of the early elections and that is a deprivation of their right. This has amounted to disenfranchisement of the petitioners by non-inclusion of their names in the electoral rolls by fixing the cut-off date of January 1, 2018 even though they have attained 18 years of age as on today, in the early elections to Telangana Legislative Assembly, thus depriving 20 lakh youth of their valuable right to vote and participation in the democratic process, the petition maintained. 

It further sought  judicial review of extra-ordinary circumstances, warranting the recommendation of the dissolution of the house to the Governor and thus seeking an early election, nine months before the expiry of its elected period, thus denying the Petitioners of their opportunity to participate in the elections. 

It also sought a directive to the Central Government to examine the possibilities of imposing President’s Rule under Art. 356 of the Constitution of India, in order to facilitate the conduct of ‘free and fair’ election by updating the electoral rolls and freeing the election machinery from the undue influence of the State Government, according to R Chandrasekhar Reddy, the advocate who represented the petitioners.