The Madras High Court recently dismissed a public interest litigation asking employers in Tamil Nadu to demand proof of voting from employees on polling day, which is given as an off, asking “how can someone be compelled to vote”.
Chief Justice Sanjay Vijaykumar Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha observed: “How can anyone compel a person to vote? It is their duty but they are not bound by any law to compulsorily cast their votes.”
It is the petitioner’s case that the purpose of adding Section 135B to the Representation of People Act, 1951 was to guarantee that voters would not be prevented from exercising their right to vote on election day because of work.
The plea also highlighted that nearly all urban and semi-urban zones had poor polling, citing the voter participation in the preceding elections. The plea stated that the low polling may be attributed to a number of factors, including heat, lethargy, a dearth of strong candidates, and absentee names from the voter list. And so, raising the poll percentage was necessary, the plea argued.
It was contended that although the majority of establishments in the State close on election day, workers spend the day relaxing instead of going to the polls to cast their ballots.
While terming the issue in the plea as “fanciful”, the court said that there was no law that enabled the court to pass such an order.
During the hearing, it was pointed out by the petitioner that the Supreme Court had held that the right to vote is just a statutory right rather than a fundamental right. Employees must thus provide the required documentation to the employer in order to exercise their right to vote in order to receive paid time off, the PIL added.
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