Bengaluru: A socio-political citizens’ collective Monday urged the Karnataka chief electoral officer to grant permission for family members to attend hearings on behalf of voters or allow video hearings in such cases, pointing out that several voters are abroad for employment.Jagrutha Karnataka sent a letter to CEO Anbu Kumar, saying the state has 951 NRI voters, including 255 women. More than two-thirds of them are from Bengaluru Urban (136), BBMP South (129), Dakshina Kannada (128), BBMP North (117) and Udupi (116).Officials said voters registered as NRI voters will not be issued notices as their passports serve as valid proof of Indian citizenship. “Travelling to India to personally reply to the notices is difficult due to constraints and practical reasons,” the organisation wrote.The demand comes days after chief minister DK Shivakumar wrote to Chief Election Commissioner of India, Gyanesh Kumar, on Aug 25, seeking an extension of the period between generation of notices and hearings so that those abroad for employment would have 3-4 weeks to respond.“Giving an elector a week to respond, followed by a second notice, may place an unreasonable burden on working people, migrants and the elderly, particularly where documents must be obtained or travel is required. A minimum of 3-4 should be provided to each elector to respond and furnish necessary documents, ensuring a meaningful opportunity to establish eligibility before any adverse decision is taken,” the CM’s letter said.However, the timeline between generation of notice and hearing remains at least seven days. Officials said this does not mean voters will necessarily get only seven days. After a notice is generated, printed and handed over to the BLO, the latter goes door to door to deliver it. Voters whose hearing date is closest will receive the notice first.For instance, if a notice is generated on Aug 7 for voters A and B, but A has a hearing for Aug 15 and B for Aug 16, voter A, whose hearing date is nearer, will receive the notice first. This also means voters could receive notices even weeks before their hearing.
