DRAFTING /REQUISITIONING OF PREMISES/VEHICLES

Drafting and deployment of Polling Personnel for election related duties.

Election Commission's letter No. 3/1/96/JS-II, Dated: 2nd May, 1996 addressed to The Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, New Delhi.
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Subject: Drafting and deployment of Polling Personnel for election related duties regarding.

Sir,

I am directed to invite attention to clause (6) of Article 324 of the Constitution of India, which provides that the President, or the Governor of a State, shall, when so requested by the Election Commission make available to the Election Commission or to Regional Commissioners (appointed under clause (4) of Article 324) such staff as may be necessary for the discharge of the functions conferred on the Election Commission by clause (1) of that Article. Further, Section 159 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 provides that every local authority in a State shall, when requested by a Regional Commissioner or the Chief Electoral Officer of the State, make available to any Returning Officer such staff as may be necessary for the performance of any duties in connection with an election.

2. At the time of elections, particularly general elections to the House of the People and State Legislative Assemblies, a very large number of employees are drafted and deployed on election duties as Presiding Officers, Polling Officers, Counting officials, etc. An idea about the enormity of the requirements of staff for general election to the House of People can be had from the fact that nearly eight lakh polling stations have been set up for current general election to Lok Sabha and every polling station has been manned by four to five polling personnel and, thus, nearly thirty-five lakhs persons have been deployed on polling duties as Presiding Officers, Polling Officers, etc.

3. In the past, the Commission used to draft, in addition to employees of the Central and State Governments and of the Local Authorities, persons working in the Public Sector Undertakings of the Central and State Governments, Universities, other Educational Institutions and Statutory and non-Statutory Bodies aided by the Government.

4. Some of the employees of such Undertakings have approached the Courts for exemption from election duties on the ground that there is no obligation on their part to perform such duties. The Supreme Court, by its Judgement dated 07-2-95, has held in Civil Appeal No. 6026 of 1993 (Election Commission of India versus State Bank of India Staff Association, Patna and others) and Civil Appeal No. 4611 of 1988 (Election Commission of India Vs. Northern Zone Insurance Employees Association, Rajasthan) that the Election Commission cannot draft in services of officers other than officers of Government and Local Authorities for above mentioned polling duties.

5. In view of the above Judgement of the Supreme Court, employees of all Public Sector Undertakings and Statutory and non-statutory bodies aided by the Government have sought exemption from election duties and in many cases they obtained the above relief from various High Courts. As a result, the District Election Officers and Returning Officers are facing acute shortage of staff for deployment on polling duties and in some of the States, and they have no choice except somehow to manage with four people instead of the normal complement of five polling personnel to overcome the difficulty so created.

6. The number of electors is increasing every year and, as a result, the number of polling stations is also going up at every election. It is strongly felt that the conduct of future elections may become well nigh impossible unless the problem with regard to the polling personnel is solved immediately. The only way to solve this problem appears to be to amend the above referred section 159 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to provide that all Public Sector Undertakings of the Central and State Governments, all Statutory and non statutory bodies aided by the government, all universities, and all educational institutions aided by the government shall also make available their staff for election duties, like the local authorities mentioned in the said section.

7. In this connection, the Commission would like to invite attention to paras 20 to 22 of Chapter II of the Proposals of the Election Commission for Electoral Reforms submitted to the Government in February, 1992 wherein a recommendation to that effect has already been made. That recommendation is reiterated.

8. The Government is requested to take immediate steps to affect the above amendment to section 159 of Representation of the People Act, 1951 so that conduct of elections in future elections may not be jeopardised and they are held in smooth manner.



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