The Supreme Court has sought the response of the Centre and Election Commission on an issue of public interest involving the right of Defence personnel to vote, particularly with elections round the corner.
A bench of Justices AK Patnaik and FM Ibrahim Kalifulla issued notice on a petition filed by MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar, who sought a direction to allow defence personnel to cast their vote in constituencies where they were posted. The bench sought the responses within four weeks.
A similar request was earlier denied by Punjab and Haryana High Court and even the Election Commission had said that such a decision was not feasible as concentration of votes in cantonment areas could tilt the results in a constituency.
Referring to the policy in place, the petition pointed out that the preset rule required a defence personnel and his family to vote at their home constituency. This was considered to cause a lot of delay and was practically unfeasible, considering the army postings across the country. Alternatively, the defence personnel were allowed to vote at the places where they are posted provided they have remained at the place for three consecutive years.