On Friday, the Supreme Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought to extend postal ballot privileges to students living away from their native places for education. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, referenced the personal voting practices of the justices themselves to highlight that traveling back to one’s constituency to vote remains a viable option.
The PIL argued for an expansion of postal voting rights currently available to certain categories like defense personnel and the elderly, to include students who might be physically distant from their registered electoral constituencies. Chief Justice Khanna pointed to his colleague, Justice Kumar, noting, “Look at my brother judge, who goes back to his native place to cast his vote.” Justice Kumar shared his practice of traveling to Hyderabad, his hometown, to participate in the elections.
Justice Kumar further elaborated that individuals living away from their voting districts, whether due to employment or education, typically choose between traveling back home to vote or transferring their voter registration to their current place of residence, in line with the existing electoral guidelines.
The petition, presented by Arnab Kumar Mullick and advocated by PK Mullick, proposed that students could be disconnected from local issues in their registered constituencies and thus suggested an electronic voting system akin to that used by Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). However, the bench rejected these suggestions, citing the robust existing mechanisms by the Election Commission of India (ECI) which allow students to register as voters in their places of study.
The court referred to the ECI’s manual on electoral rolls, which provides detailed provisions for students residing in hostels, messes, or lodges. According to clause 13.6.1.3 of the manual, students who are continuously living at their educational institutions and return home only during short breaks can register as voters at their places of study, with the support of a bona fide certificate from their institution’s head.
The decision to dismiss the PIL was based on the court’s view that the existing electoral regulations sufficiently accommodate the needs of students who relocate for education, offering them flexibility to register as voters either in their places of study or to continue voting in their home constituencies.
