Will bring bill to allow NRIs to vote from their locations, Centre tells SC

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NEW DELHI – The central government on Friday told the Supreme Court that it will bring a bill during the Winter Session of Parliament to amend the Representation of People Act for allowing Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to exercise their franchise from their offshore locations.

Seeking that the matter be adjourned for six months, the central government on Friday told the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud that permitting the NRIs to vote from their overseas location was being done through legislation that will be brought during the Winter Session of Parliament.

However, the court adjourned the hearing for 12 weeks.

In the earlier hearing of the matter on July 21, the top court had asked the central government to tell it the time it would require for bringing a bill to amend the Representation of People Act.

A team of ministers had on July 20, 2017, decided that to “facilitate external modes of voting to the overseas electors, amendment to the Representation of People Act, 1951 would be required by way of introduction of Bill in Parliament”, the bench was told during the July 21 hearing.