Kerala elections: High Court refuses relief to poll duty officers who could not vote due to non-receipt of postal ballots

The Kerala High Court on Thursday declined to pass interim orders to allow election duty officers who have not yet received postal ballots to cast their vote before the May 4 Kerala Assembly election vote count [Joint Council of State Service Organisation & Anr. v. Election Commission of India and connected cases]..The Court was dealing with a batch of petitions alleging that thousands of government employees deployed for election duty were unable to cast their votes during the 2026 Assembly Elections because they did not receive postal ballots. KV Jayakumar today refused to grant any interim relief to the affected poll officers considering the fact that the electoral process is at a very advanced stage at present."I am of the view that, interference of this Court at this advanced stage of the electoral process, by way of an interim order, is not warranted. The interim orders sought for are declined," the Court said in its order..During a previous hearing of the matter, the Court had raised serious concerns over the denial of the postal voting facility to nearly to such a large number of polling officials. The Court had also expressed dissatisfaction with the Commission's failure to offer any solution and reminded the poll body of its duty to ensure that voters are able to exercise their right to vote..One of the petitions in the batch of cases was filed by the Kerala NGO Union, representing non-gazetted government officers deputed for election duty. Another plea was filed by the Joint Council of State Service Organisation of Government Employees representing over fifty thousand government employees of the state.Earlier, the Court had passed an interim order emphasising that the right to vote cannot be denied even to polling officials and directed authorities to ensure that postal ballots were issued to such voters urgently.The petitioners, however, alleged that the Commission did not comply with the direction and claimed that nearly 6,000 officials did not receive ballot papers despite submitting applications within the prescribed time.Further, many were unable to vote as the last date for postal voting lapsed while they were engaged in election duties, it was contended.A connected grievance raised in the petitions was in relation to the non-payment or partial payment of allowances to Booth Level Officers (BLO), who claimed that they were paid significantly less than the sanctioned amount for the electoral role revision work..The Court had earlier also asked the ECI if a limited opportunity could be granted to the affected voters by allowing voters whose postal ballot applications were valid to vote through a single centre.However, the ECI maintained that it had already taken all necessary steps in accordance with law to ensure that everyone could cast their votes during the elections.The ECI further stated that any non-receipt of postal ballots was due to the petitioners' negligence, either because the applications were not submitted or got rejected or were found defective..Another objection raised by the ECI was regarding the fact that the petitions were filed as writ petitions. According to the ECI, grievances regarding the conduct oo the elections should be aised through election petitions, not a writ petitions.However, in the order passed today, the Court held that bar on courts' intervention in election matters under Article 329(b) would not apply in the facts of the present case. In this regard, the Court referred to the Supreme Court's decision in Election Commission of India v. Ashok Kumar & Ors. to conclude that there is no complete ouster of the jurisdiction of the Constitutional Courts."I am of the view that a Writ Petition is perfectly maintainable and the Writ Courts have ample jurisdiction to entertain petitions in appropriate cases", the Court said. .The Kerala NGO Union was represented by advocates Dinesh Mathew J Murikan, Vinod S Pillai, Nayana Varghese, Jerry Peter and Goutham Chandrasekhar.The Joint Council of State Service Organisation was represented by advocates Aadithyan S Mannali and Ramola Nayanpally.Standing counsel Deepu Lal Mohan appeared for the Election Commission of India..[Read Order]