new delhi: Voting is a right and a choice for people and constitutional courts cannot force citizens to vote, the Delhi high court said on Friday as it refused to entertain a plea by Bharatiya Janata Party BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay to make voting mandatory in Parliamentary and assembly elections. That s voting their people s right, their choice. You want us to force someone who is in Chennai to leave everything, to go vote in Srinagar, police should catch hold of the person to give vote in Srinagar and then go back to Chennai, a bench of chief justice Satish Chandra Sharma and justice Subramonium Prasad said while chastising Upadhyay. We are not lawmakers. We cannot pass such directions, the bench said as the petition sought direction to the Centre and Election Commission to make voting compulsory in Parliament and assembly elections. Is there any provision in the Constitution that makes voting compulsory the bench added, while warning the petitioner in person of imposing cost on him. The court also refused to direct the Election Commission to treat the petition as a representation.
After some arguments, Upadhyay withdrew the petition. In his plea, Upadhyay had said that compulsory voting will ensure every citizen has a voice, will improve the quality of democracy and secure the right to vote. The plea also said that low voter turnout is a persistent problem and compulsory voting can help increase the turnout, particularly among marginalised communities.