The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to hear a petition seeking to make voting mandatory in the country. The court said that such an order falls within the scope of policy and the judiciary cannot issue it. The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi said that the court cannot hear the petitions demanding punitive action for those who deliberately do not vote and making voting mandatory. The bench asked PIL petitioner Ajay Goyal to approach the parties concerned with his complaints. The petitioner had also demanded that guidelines be issued to restrict government facilities to those who deliberately abstain from voting. CJI said- Democracy flourishes through public awareness rather than legal pressure. In a country that follows the rule of law and believes in democracy. Where we have shown in 75 years how much we trust and believe in it, everyone is expected to go and vote. If they don’t go, they don’t go. What is needed is awareness, but we cannot force anyone. CJI also pointed out the problems faced during elections. During the hearing, the bench mentioned the practical difficulties of the compulsory voting law and said that during election days, many citizens, including judges, have to work. In fact, the petitioner had suggested that the court should direct the Election Commission to ban government facilities for those who did not vote. On this, the CJI questioned the logic of making working at home a crime. He said, “If we accept your suggestion, my colleague Justice Bagchi will have to go to West Bengal to cast his vote, even if it is a working day.” The bench also expressed concern for the deprived sections of the society. The bench asked, “If a poor person says that I have to earn my daily wage, how should I vote, what should we tell him?” The petitioner said that the Election Commission should be directed to form a committee which would propose a ban on those who fail to exercise their franchise. However, the CJI said, ‘We fear that these issues fall within the policy ambit.’
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सुप्रीम कोर्ट में चुनावों में वोटिंग अनिवार्य करने की मांग: याचिका खारिज; CJI बोले- जरूरत जागरूकता की है, हम किसी को मजबूर नहीं कर सकते
