On the eve of polling, the Kerala High Court has instructed authorities to promptly address the issue of election duty personnel not receiving their postal ballots. This directive came following a writ petition by the Kerala NGO Union, which raised concerns about government officials on election duties being denied their voting rights. The petition pointed out that as per the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, polling personnel have the right to vote through postal ballots.
Delays in distributing postal ballots have led to inefficiencies in the voting process, with many officials reportedly not receiving their ballots despite submitting the required Form 12 applications within the specified timeframe. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that several voter facilitation centers had not received the ballot papers even as of April 6, resulting in officials being unable to cast their votes.
The court took cognizance of the urgency of the matter and received assurances from the respondents that necessary steps would be taken to expedite the distribution of postal ballots. It ordered that all eligible personnel who had not yet received their ballots should be provided with them, with the affected list to be communicated to nodal officers at designated facilitation centers. The court stressed the importance of completing this process before 2 p.m. on April 8 to ensure that those involved in the electoral process are not deprived of their voting rights.
