Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday declined to grant interim relief to election duty officers who had not received postal ballots, in petitions linked to the Kerala Assembly election process. The case relates to allegations that several polling staff were unable to vote ahead of the May 4 counting of votes, with the process already at an advanced stage.

Court declines interim intervention

Justice KV Jayakumar refused interim orders, noting the timing of the electoral process. The Court said:

"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 petitions sought permission for officers to vote before counting. The Court noted the process had moved forward.

In an earlier hearing, the Court had raised concerns over claims that over 20,000 election duty staff could not vote in the April 9 Assembly polls. It had directed the Election Commission of India to take corrective steps to ensure postal ballots were issued without delay.

Postal ballot delay allegations and ECI stand

Petitioners alleged that thousands of officers did not receive postal ballots despite submitting applications on time. They argued voting rights were affected due to delays under the postal voting system. The Election Commission of India said it had taken all required steps and that issues arose from application defects, rejections, or non-submission by applicants. A connected grievance also concerned Booth Level Officers and allowance payments with claims of partial payment.

The Commission also argued that such grievances should be raised through election petitions, not writ petitions. The Court, however, held that constitutional courts could intervene in appropriate cases, citing Supreme Court precedent on limited restriction under Article 329(b) and jurisdiction was not completely ousted position.