Military personnel got an opportunity on Monday to be counted as general voters in their respective posting areas after the Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission (EC) to implement this unprecedented step.
With over 15 lakh personnel across the country of which over 13 lakh have registered this year for postal ballots, the Government and the EC were not keen to allow military personnel an opportunity to vote in the area of their posting. The poll panel believed this could tilt the result in areas such as Jammu & Kashmir and the North East, where the service personnel far outnumbered local population.
Surprised by the opposition posed by the EC to consistent suggestions by the Court, the Bench of Justices RM lodha and Kurian Joseph said, “We do not understand that left to them, the EC would like everyone to cast their votes. Why should they do anything that deprives a person from his right to voteIJ”
The court failed to see any reason behind the EC’s December 28, 2008 decision fixing three-year service tenure at a post to be enrolled as a general or ordinary voter. This rule was agitated against by two petitions, one by advocate Neela Gokhale and another by MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar.
They assailed the EC order as impractical since Army allowed quick transfers of its officers, thus allowing no officer to remain at his post more than six months to a year.
Not willing to delay the situation any further, as an interim arrangement, the Bench held that any officer who has been posted at the peace station since January 1, 2014, and continued to remain at that post will be entitled to be enrolled as an ordinary or general voter. This would be applicable to constituencies where the voting list is yet to be finalised.
The EC indicated that at present, final voting list for 225 constituencies was already out, which the court did not wish to disturb. Also, it clarified that 13.28 lakh service personnel who had so far opted under postal ballot will not be covered by the court order. The court even asked the Centre to supply a list of all peace stations to the EC within two days.
Addressing another apprehension expressed by the EC that this move could politicise Army as political parties had already approached for permission to campaign in Army bases and cantonments, the Bench left it to the EC to pass necessary directions in this regard.
However, in border areas and forward posts, exercising vote through postal ballot or proxy voting would continue. The court asked the Centre to provide necessary help to EC in order to expedite speedy delivery of ballots.