High Court on MP’s plea ahead of Maharashtra Assembly elections

On Friday, October 18, the Bombay High Court, while dismissing the petition filed by an independent Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) highlighting the issue of duplicate voter cards, accepted the contention of the Election Commission of India ( ECI) according to which it would conduct “free and fair” elections.

A division bench of Justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Santosh Chapalgaonkar hoped that the ECI would develop a ‘module’ to ensure that no ‘fake’ voting takes place in the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.

The bench noted that the deputy Chandrakant Nimba Patil had highlighted the fact that nearly 45,000 voter ID cards were duplicated in Muktainagar constituency of Aurangabad. He had filed complaints with local ECI authorities, however, the ECI through its Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) insisted that the lawmaker submit his complaint by filling Form 7 as prescribed by the Voter Registration Rules of 1960. It is only then, rejoices the ERO, that it will examine the question.

The court accepted the ECI’s statement that it was “The duty to hold free and fair elections and the right to vote being a statutory right cannot be denied to any voter by mere filing of a complaint. The Election Commission of India has put in place a very strong to ensure that the right to vote is exercised by every eligible citizen.

The court, while accepting the said statement, held that the ECI was “justified” in its insistence on the petitioner MLA to submit his complaints in the prescribed format vide Form 7.

“These forms have been created with a specific intention and now in view of digitalization everything would then be included in electronic form at one place. This would make the conduct of elections easier for the respondents. The officer filing the affidavit at the name of the authorities has indeed assured that the next elections will take place fairly and in a free atmosphere. We hope and are convinced that a module will be developed by the respondents in order to avoid false votes”, he said. added. » the judges said in the order.

The judges, however, considered another aspect: since the elections have been declared, it will not be possible for the ECI to take into account the large number of alleged duplicate voter IDs from a single constituency. He said the ECI will not be able to suo motu rectify the voters list as provided for in Rule 21 of the Voter Registration Rules.

“But before we part, we will have to observe that there is certainly content in what the petitioner says from the list he has given. Some people have obtained two or more electoral cards, i.e. -say identity cards, which is certainly offensive These people “For people who have emigrated or moved, their case is different and it must be according to rules or even for deceased people, the procedure must be. adopted”, » said the judges.

However, when it comes to obtaining a second identity card, while the previous one already exists for the same address and the same neighborhood, these entries can be corrected, the court added.

“We hope and trust that at some point, perhaps before the next elections, this task will be undertaken by the authorities. However, with regard to the present petition, at the cost of repetition, we would say that when the authorities of the ECI follow the statutory rules, then a writ of mandamus cannot be issued”, ” the bench said while dismissing the petition.

Appearance:

Senior advocate Rajendra Deshmukh and advocate Amol Joshi represented the petitioner.

Senior counsel VD Sapkal and lawyer Alok Sharma represented ICE.

Advocate AB Kadethankar represented the State Election Commission.

Case Title: Chandrakant Nimba Patil v. State Election Commission (Writ Petition No. 11123 of 2024)

Click here to read/download the judgment