‘Not a monopoly’: Supreme Court tells Rajasthan poll body to reconsider voter campaign plea

On Monday, the Supreme Court overruled Rajasthan State Election Commission's (SEC) decision to reject a request for a voter awareness campaign. Social activist Aruna Roy and others had applied for permission on October 6 to conduct such campaigns in Rajasthan, but the SEC initially denied it. On Monday, a three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and including Justices Joymala Bagchi and V Mohana, instructed the SEC to reconsider the petitioners' request for a voter awareness campaign during the third phase of the Panchayati Raj elections.

They gave them two days to provide an order. The activist's lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, argued that the campaign, which has been ongoing since 2004, aims to educate voters about their democratic rights, electoral choices, and discourages electoral malpractices. Bhushan emphasized that the campaign is entirely non-partisan and involves small groups conducting interactive sessions in villages.

However, the SEC disagreed, claiming that the campaign could be prompted by someone else and that they were already conducting their own voter awareness programs. Judges Bagchi and Mohana disagreed with the SEC, stating that the Commission's own initiatives cannot be a reason to stop other organizations from carrying out similar actions.

Rajasthan Election Watch, along with Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) and other partners, has been conducting voter awareness yatras for 20 years before Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, and local Panchayati Raj elections. The organizations had sent a letter to the SEC on September 7 requesting permission for a voter awareness yatra across 11 districts of Rajasthan, but the SEC rejected it three days later on September 10.

Despite multiple rejections, the activists persisted, sending another request for permission on October 9, which was also denied. Aruna Roy praised the Supreme Court's judgment for upholding the Constitution and democracy, and warned that preventing voter awareness yatras is a threat to democratic values.