To
Election Commission of India,
Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road, New
Delhi -110001
Sub: Regarding the request to arrange
Breath Analyzers at every polling booth and stop those who drunk from casting
their Vote; in order to protect the purity of Election and purity of democratic
Republic. Enforce Section 135C of PR Act in letter and Spirit using powers
under Article 324 of Indian Constitution.
Respected Sir,
1. It
is humbly submitted that Free and fair election is basic features of a
democratic and Republican Constitution. As your Excellency is well aware, the Influence
of Alcohol and its influence is judicially accepted fact and the Election
Commission of India (ECI) is taking various measures under its powers given by
Art.324 of Indian Constitution, to check the Alcohol Influence and provide
level playing field in the electoral politics. Article 324 is a reservoir of
power to act for the avowed purpose of having free and fair election.
2. It
is humbly submitted that the as recognized by the Hon’ble Supreme Court that
the power to conduct free and fair Elections is untrammeled which is essential
for healthy democracy.
3. It
is humbly submitted that the phrase
‘conduct of elections’ is held to be of wide amptitude which would include
power to make all necessary provisions for conducting free and fair elections.
4. It
is humbly submitted that the untrammeled power of ECI has been recognized by
the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the following decision.
The Constitution Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Mohinder
Singh Gill v. The Chief Election Commissioner, New Delhi [(1978) 1 SCC 405]
“At the bottom of all tributes paid to democracy is the little man, walking
into a little booth, with a little pencil, making a little cross on a little
bit of paper - no amount of rhetoric of voluminous discussion can possibly
diminish the overwhelming importance of the point.
If we may add, the little large Indian shall not be
hijacked from the course of free and fair elections by mob muscle methods or
subtle perversion of discretion by men ‘dressed in little, brief authority’.
For ‘be you ever so high, the law is above you’.
The Hon’ble
Supreme Court in Union of India Vs. Association for Democratic Reforms &
Another
In concluding
portion of paragraph 92, the Court inter alia observed thus :-
2(a) The Constitution contemplates a free and fair
election and vests comprehensive responsibilities of superintendence, direction
and control of the conduct of elections in the Election Commission. This
responsibility may cover powers, duties and functions of many sorts,
administrative or other depending on the circumstances.
The aforesaid decision of the Constitution Bench
unreservedly lays down that in democracy the little man - voter has
overwhelming importance on the point and the little-large Indian (voter) should
not be hijacked from the course of free and fair elections by subtle perversion
of discretion of casting votes. In a continual participative operation of
periodical election, the voter does a social audit of his candidate and for
such audit he must be well informed about the past of his candidate.
5. It is humbly submitted that considering
the above “voter should not be hijacked from the course of free and fair
elections by subtle perversion of discretion of casting votes”.
6. It is humbly submitted that experience
shows that the distortion of discretion of Indian voters has been from many
angles, such as religion, race, caste, region, gender, liquor, money and other.
7. It
is humbly submitted that the impact of the consumed Alcohol will be present immediately;
thereby the voters can’t exercise their votes in free and fair manner.
8. It
is humbly submitted that Unfortunately Alcohol has become integral part of the
Indian Electoral System. The failed experiment of Prohibition demonstrated the
formidable demand Indians have for alcohol.
9. It
is humbly submitted that as per Section 135C of Peoples Representative Act, clearly
laid down the law to prohibit the drunkard from voting thereby protects the
purity of election process, however the implementation of the same is
non-existent or biased to target the opposition by the ruling party indirectly
controlled election staff at the local level.
10. It
is humbly submitted that Section 135C of PR Act, read as
135C. Liquor not to be sold,
given or distributed on polling day.—
(1) No spirituous, fermented or intoxicating liquors or
other substances of a like nature shall be sold, given or distributed at a
hotel, eating house, tavern, shop or any other place, public or private, within
a polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour
fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.
(2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of
sub-section (1), shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may
extend to six months or with fine, which may extend to two thousand rupees, or
with both.
(3) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this
section, the spirituous, fermented, or intoxicating liquors or other substances
of a like nature found in his possession shall be liable to confiscation and
the same shall be disposed of in such manner as may be prescribed.
11. It
is humbly submitted that Alcohol consumption can cause individuals to lose their
ability to think responsibly. Alcohol is associated with a host of familiar
cognitive changes, such as a loss of inhibitions, confused or abnormal
thinking, and poor decision-making. Even short-term loss of control over normal
mental functioning can result in legal and personal troubles that would likely
not have occurred if alcohol were not involved.
12. It
is well established in the mental health field that alcohol consumption can
exacerbate an underlying mental health disorder.
13. It
is humbly submitted that Alcohol acts on the receptor sites for the
neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) known as GABA, glutamate, and dopamine.
Alcohol’s activity on the GABA and glutamate sites results in the physiological
effects associated with drinking, such as a slowing down of movement and
speech. Alcohol’s activity on the dopamine site in the brain’s reward center
produces the pleasurable feelings that motivate many people to drink in the
first place.
14. It
is humbly submitted that The degree to which alcohol impacts a person’s mood,
behavior, and neurological functioning depends in part on whether the blood
alcohol content (BAC) is elevating or decreasing. With 1-2 drinks, the person
may feel excited or more talkative, but with more and more alcohol in their
system, they become more sedated and being to lose control of their movement
and may experience impaired thinking and memory. The fluctuation in BAC helps
to account for why the same person can go from being the life of the party to
needing help with basics, like walking.
15. The
margin of winning candidates is very less even below 100 in many cases. It can
be easily presumed that there are more than 100 who drunk and vote, there by
the basic structure of Indian Republic, i.e. free and fair elections is
threatened. Article 324 is a reservoir of power to act for the avowed
purpose of having free and fair election.
For the afore said reasons we request
the Hon’ble ECI to arrange Breath Analyzers at every polling booth and stop
those who drunk from casting their Vote; in order to protect the purity of
Election and purity of democratic Republic and to implement Section 135C of PR
Act in letter and Spirit.
It is also humbly submitted that the
experiment can be initiated in Telangana in the upcoming Assembly elections and
later can be extended to whole of India based on the feedback from the
experience.
Thanking You Sir,
Thandava Yogesh, B.E, M.A (Sociology),
L.L.B
H:No: 1-3-183/40/35, SBI Colony,
Near Gandhi Nagar Post office, Hydarabad-500080
Party in Person in PIL/165/2017; PIL/86/2018; PIL/128/2018, all on the
file of High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad for the States of Telangana and
Andhra Pradesh.
