Uttarakhand HC issues notice to EC on plea seeking deferment of polls due to Omicron scare

On Wednesday, the Uttarakhand High Court issued notice to the Election Commission of India seeking its response on a plea seeking postponement of the upcoming Assembly election in the state owing to the Omicron scare. A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra and Justice Narayan Singh Dhanik heard the plea which also sought a direction to all political parties to hold their rallies virtually. Finally, it impleaded the EC as a party in the case and adjourned the hearing to January 2. 

Speaking to the media, the petitioner's lawyer remarked, "We had filed an application in the court that the election should be postponed or the election rallies should be held online owing to the Omicron scare. There is fear of Omicron spreading faster in physical meetings because social distancing is not being observed and nobody is wearing masks in rallies. We also urged that the Election Commission of India should be made a party to this case and they should be asked whether elections can be postponed. The court has made the Election Commission of India a party and the matter will be heard on Monday." 

During the EC's visit to Uttarakhand on December 24, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra had assured that the EC will take all possible steps to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Addressing a press briefing, he said, "Today morning, I asked the Chief Secretary as to how many Omicron cases have been detected in this state. I was told that only one case has been detected in this state till now. I also told you the steps being taken by the Commission to manage COVID-19. We will take a constitutional position (on the possibility of deferring polls) and take action when required". 

Omicron scare

The B.1.1.529 variant of COVID-19 was first detected in South Africa from a sample collected on November 9. As infections steeply increased in the country in recent weeks, it reported this variant to the World Health Organization on November 24. Two days later, the UN health body designated it as a Variant of Concern based on the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution and named it 'Omicron'. 

While studies are underway to assess its transmissibility, severity of infection, the performance of vaccines and diagnostic tests, and effectiveness of treatments, the UN health body has advised physical distancing, wearing of masks and vaccination. In India, persons arriving from Europe, Countries in Europe, South Africa, Brazil, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Hong Kong and Israel have to get tested on arrival and observe home quarantine for 7 days. In order to curb the movement of people, the Uttarakhand government has imposed a night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am.