New Delhi: Come the elections next time, and you may no longer see the flurry of exit polls that take over the airwaves within minutes of closing of polling stations.
A petitioner, DK Thakur, has moved the Supreme Court, seeking a ban on the exit polls on the grounds that these polls influence the voters and, hence, influence the outcome of the elections. He also contended that exit polls violate the doctrine of free and fair elections in the country.
Admitting the petition, the Supreme Court directed the respondents, including various political parties, to file their replies to the PIL within three weeks.
The BJP has already made its stand clear on the issue. Appearing for BJP, party leader and senior counsel Arun Jaitley told the court that the exit polls cannot be completely banned. The Central Government has also taken a similar stand.
The counsel for the petitioner told the court that the Election Commission had withdrawn its guidelines when an earlier petition was referred to a five-judge constitution bench, but subsequently the petition was withdrawn and could not be considered by the court.
A bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justice D K Jain and Justice H S Bedi directed that the court will consider whether the exit polls exceeded the Right of Freedom of Expression to the press, guaranteed under Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution, and if so, then the court may consider the issue of framing some guidelines
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