In a significant statement, the Madras High Court declared that while it is every citizen’s duty to vote, the court cannot enforce participation in elections. The ruling came as the court dismissed a petition seeking to make it mandatory for employees to demonstrate proof of voting in order to benefit from a paid holiday on election day.
The bench, led by Chief Justice Sanjay Vijaykumar Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy, emphasized that the judiciary lacks the authority under current law to impose such a requirement. “This is a fanciful issue and there is no law that enables the court to pass such an order,” the justices remarked, highlighting the legal limitations faced by the judiciary in electoral matters.
The petition, filed by B Ramkumar Adityan, argued that granting a paid holiday on polling day is crucial for facilitating the exercise of the right to vote. He pointed out that the Representation of People Act, under section 135B, mandates a paid holiday for employees on election day, penalizing employers who fail to comply. However, Adityan raised concerns over the absence of a system to verify if employees actually use this time to vote.
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Adityan further argued, referencing a Supreme Court verdict, that although the right to vote is not a fundamental right but a statutory one, employees should still be required to show proof of voting to avail themselves of the paid leave. Despite these arguments, the court found no legal basis to support the petition’s demands and subsequently dismissed the plea, which was filed as a public interest litigation.
