NRI Kannadigas seek postal voting and polling booths at embassies for Karnataka assembly polls
Bengaluru: Kannadigas living overseas are seeking the right to vote through postal ballots or polling booths at their respective embassies, ahead of the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections. Approximately five lakh non-resident Indians (NRIs) from Karnataka are mostly unable to exercise their franchise as they are unable to travel to their hometowns to cast their votes.
This time, Kannadigas residing in countries such as Italy, England, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, among others, have approached the Election Commission of India and their respective embassy or Consulate General of India’s (CGI) offices seeking permission to vote through postal ballots or booths at their embassies.
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The Sagarottara Kannadigaru association, registered in the UK to represent overseas Kannadigas worldwide, has filed a public interest litigation in the Karnataka high court, where a hearing is scheduled for May 2. Ravi Mahadev, the association's joint secretary, told the Times of India that he came to Mysuru to vote on May 10. He stated that the cost of visiting India for elections is high, and neither the ECI nor the government encourages NRIs to vote. Although there is a provision to register as an overseas Kannadiga in Form-6A, it does not provide postal voting or booths in the countries where NRIs work.
Association president Chandrashekhar Lingadalli, who has come to Banahatti, his hometown in Bagalkot, from Dubai, said non-resident Kannadigas have started a campaign to submit memorandums to their respective embassies. The number of eligible NRI Kannadigas are of three types - working, dependents, and students. When countries like Algeria, the Philippines, Italy, and Romania allow their citizens to vote by setting up polling booths at their embassies, why is it not possible for about 60 lakh NRIs, he asked.
Hemegowda Rudrappa has submitted a memorandum to CGI in Italy, while Ravi Mahadeva has submitted a memorandum to the chief electoral officer, Karnataka, in Bengaluru. The campaign highlights the difficulties faced by NRIs in travelling to India to vote, particularly during a pandemic. They argue that the establishment of postal voting or polling booths at embassies is a practical solution that will allow NRIs to exercise their democratic rights without having to incur significant costs.
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BharatPe fraud case: Delhi HC quashes lookout circular against Ashneer Grover, wife
New Delhi, Nov 12: The Delhi High Court has ordered cancellation of a lookout circular (LOC) issued against Ashneer Grover, the former MD of payment app BharatPe, and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, noting that the FIR lodged against them over allegations of cheating and forgery has already been quashed.
Justice Sanjeev Narula passed the order on Monday after the court was informed that another bench of the high court quashed the FIR on the same day.
The FIR was quashed by Justice Chandra Dhari Singh after considering a plea moved by the Grovers stating that they have arrived at a settlement with the fintech company.
In his order, Justice Narula said, "Although the copy of the order (quashing the FIR) is not available as of now, the aforenoted fact is not disputed by the counsel for the parties.
"In light of the fact that the underlying FIR has been quashed, the LOC issued by respondent No. 3 (Bureau of Immigration), in the opinion of the court, will not survive."
The LOC was issued by the Bureau of Immigration at the instance of Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in view of the investigation against the Grovers in the cheating and forgery FIR.
The court was hearing a plea moved by Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover seeking quashing of the LOC issued against them in connection with the investigation into the cheating and forgery case.
"Accordingly, the present petitions are disposed of with a direction to the respondents to cancel the LOC against the petitioners in their records," the court noted.
Earlier, the Grovers claimed that they were informed about the LOC for the first time when they were detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on November 16, 2023, while they were scheduled to travel to the US.
After being detained, they were informed that the LOC was operational from November 6, 2023.
In May last year, the EOW filed an FIR against Grover, his wife Madhuri, and others under eight sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 467 and 468 (forgery), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) for an alleged Rs 81 crore fraud after a complaint was lodged by BhartPe, the fintech unicorn.
In its complaint, BharatPe alleged that Grover and his family caused damages to the tune of Rs 81.3 crore through illegitimate payments to bogus human resource consultants, inflated and undue payments through pass-through vendors connected to the accused, sham transactions in input tax credit and payment of penalty to GST authorities, illegal payment to travel agencies, forged invoices by Madhuri, and destruction of evidence.
Madhuri was the head of controls at BharatPe before she was fired in 2022 after a forensic audit revealed several irregularities.
Subsequently, Grover resigned as the chief executive officer of the fintech firm in March 2022.
