Ahead of the much awaited elections of over 200 local bodies in Gujarat slated in October this year, the Gujarat High Court on Friday issued a stay against the State Government notification that made voting compulsory.
The said notification was issued last month. According to the notification voting was made mandatory for the voters in the upcoming elections of local bodies that include six major municipal corporations — Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Surat, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar. Apart from six municipal corporations, the elections will be held for 253 municipalities, 208 tahesil panchayats and 26 district panchayats later in the year. The elections are seen as litmus test for the popularity of the Anandiben Patel Government.
A Bench, headed by acting Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court Jayant Patel, admitted the petition filed by advocate KR Koshti questioning the provisions of making voting obligatory for all the citizens. Citing various provisions of People’s Representation Act, he also challenged the Government’s move saying that voting was a right of citizens and not a duty.
Reacting on the petition, the High Court Bench stayed the Government notification till final disposal of the case. While hearing the petition, the court observed that the Right to Vote itself contained Right to Refrain from voting.
The State Government had taken the lead among all the States in the country by making voting compulsory, beginning with forthcoming elections to local self-governing bodies. The law, Gujarat local Authorities laws (Amendment) Bill, 2009, was passed in 2009 and in 2011, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Gujarat Chief Minister. The Bill received green nod from Governor OP Kohli last year, after being rejected by earlier Governor, Kamla Beniwal twice.
The former Governor had turned down State Government’s plea on the ground that this provision was against the principle of individual liberty and in violation of the Article 19(1) (A) of the Indian Constitution that guarantee freedom of expression, including the right to vote or not to vote.
However, the Anandiben Patel Government formed the rules and passed in the Assembly and issued the notification. Just a few days back the State Government had also announced that the eligible voter abstaining from voting in the forthcoming local body elections would have to pay a fine of `100. As many as 11 conditional relaxations were given for different situations. Even aged people, students and those who suffer from illness were given exemption. Even situation like mourning a death or attending a wedding on voting day was also exempted.