Jaipur: The Supreme Court on Monday, November 2 set aside the Rajasthan State Election Commission's (SEC) refusal to allow a civil society voter awareness campaign during the ongoing Panchayati Raj elections, and directed the Commission to reconsider the organisers' request and pass a fresh order within two days, legal news outlets reported. The bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was hearing an application in a writ petition filed by social activists Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey, co-founders of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS).

Source: Verdictum

"The State Election Commission, Rajasthan, is directed to reconsider the petitioners' request for permitting them to conduct voter awareness campaigns as per the list appended to the application. Let them decide within 48 hours. Their earlier order is set aside," the Court ordered, according to Verdictum. The order sets aside the SEC's October 9 communication rejecting the group's October 6 application for the 'Matdata Jagrukta Yatra'; an earlier application filed on September 7 had been rejected on September 10, the Times of India reported. The order does not itself grant permission — it requires a fresh decision by the Commission.

Source: Times of India, Jaipur

48 hourstime given to the SEC to decide afresh
Oct 9SEC communication set aside by the Court
11 districtscovered by the campaign permission request
~20 yearsthe yatra has run during elections, organisers say

"You cannot monopolise voter awareness"

Justice Bagchi told the Commission it could not take over or monopolise voter awareness exercises, observing that if the SEC was conducting such programmes itself, that did not stand in the way of another authority or group doing the same, and that the petitioners would be its helping hand, Live Law reported. The Court also noted that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS did not bar meetings or processions held with prior permission, though the organisers must specify the place, date and time of each programme.

Source: Live Law

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, told the Court the campaign has been conducted since 2004 and seeks to educate voters about their democratic rights, including the NOTA option, and to discourage them from accepting money or other inducements for votes, Bar and Bench reported. The SEC opposed the plea, saying it had examined the representation and was concerned the campaign could be at someone else's behest, and that it was already running its own voter awareness programmes. Rajasthan Election Watch, MKSS and allied organisations sought permission to take out the campaign across 11 districts, including Jaipur, Bikaner, Ajmer and Udaipur. Aruna Roy welcomed the order as a victory for the Constitution, democracy and citizens' rights. The ruling comes as Rajasthan votes in the third phase of its four-phase Panchayati Raj elections on Tuesday, November 3.

Source: Bar and Bench