Amid concerns over the conduct of Punjab municipal elections, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday ordered continuous videography of vote storage rooms from both inside and outside, directed foolproof security arrangements, and appointed court observers to monitor polling and counting in the municipal councils going to polls.
The Division Bench of Justice Harsimran Sethi and Justice Deepak Manchanda made it clear that the directions were aimed at ensuring “there is no allegation of any manipulation of the votes so cast” during safe custody after the polling and before the counting commenced.
The Bench directed that storage rooms used for keeping polled votes would be under continuous video surveillance and adequately secured “so as to avoid any untoward incident”. The order applied to all municipal councils where elections are scheduled either on May 26 or in the first week of June.
The state, through Additional Advocate-General Jastej Singh, submitted on instructions that appointment of court observers was the prerogative of the court and it had “no objection” if neutral observers were appointed, asserting that elections were being conducted in accordance with law.
The court recorded the state’s further stand that since the prayer was confined to appointment of court observers to work alongside observers already deployed by the government, it had no objection provided the expenses were borne by the petitioners and treated as part of the candidates’ election expenditure.
The court directed the state to provide adequate security to the observers, who would move jointly with election observers already appointed by the government for the areas concerned. Petitioners were directed to provide a vehicle at their own cost for both observers on the day of duty.
The Punjab State Election Commission was ordered to forward the names of court-appointed observers to the deputy commissioners concerned to ensure their safety and enable them to function “without any fear or pressure from any corner”.
Accepting the proposal advanced by the petitioners’ counsel, the court fixed the observers’ fee at Rs 1 lakh each, payable by cheque before commencement of duties. The observers were directed to carry identity cards and appear in court dress.
Taking note of long-distance destinations such as Majitha, Fazilka and Faridkot, where travel could take more than four hours, the Bench requested the observers to start sufficiently early to reach polling or counting venues before proceedings begin at 8 am.
The court further directed that observers would submit reports after discharging their assigned duties. The order was directed to be conveyed by the Punjab State Election Commission to district administrations for compliance.
The Bench finally ordered that the observers’ expenses would be treated as electoral expenditure of the candidates. Where two observers had been appointed for a municipal council, the expenditure would be equally divided among all petitioners for computation of poll expenses.
The petition was disposed of accordingly.
