Supreme Court suggests mandatory vote threshold in unopposed elections
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday proposed that a minimum percentage of votes should be mandated even in cases where a candidate is elected unopposed. The two-judge bench, comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N.K. Singh, raised this suggestion while hearing a petition filed by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.
The Court questioned whether it would be appropriate to amend election laws to ensure that even unopposed candidates must secure a minimum percentage, 10%, 15% or more, of total votes cast in order to be declared elected.
"Will it not be a very welcome and progressive step where only one candidate is left in the fray, and still you say that you will be declared elected only when you get at least 10%, 15% votes, whatever the number may be," observed Justice Surya Kant, according to a report by The Indian Express.
The petition challenges Section 53(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which currently allows a candidate to be declared elected unopposed in case all other candidates withdraw. The petitioner has urged the Court to either read down or strike down this provision as unconstitutional, at least in its application to direct elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.
During the hearing, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar, representing the petitioner, illustrated a hypothetical scenario where four candidates file nominations, but all except one withdraw at the last minute. In such a situation, he argued, voters who may prefer to vote for ‘NOTA’ (None of the Above) are rendered powerless.
Datar emphasized that in a constituency with one lakh voters, even if only 10,000 support the remaining candidate while 25,000 prefer NOTA, the current law denies voters a meaningful choice.
Justice Kant responded by highlighting the spirit of the Constitution, which upholds majority-based democracy. "Our Constitution, and we salute it, is one of the most dynamic… It says that democracy is by majority… So why not, in furtherance of achieving that very goal, we prescribe that even in a default direction, there should be at least some voters who are liking you," he said.
The Court directed the Centre and the Election Commission of India to examine whether such a reform could be incorporated into electoral law, ensuring greater voter engagement and legitimacy even in uncontested elections.
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Six terrorists killed in two major operations in south Kashmir
Awantipora (J-K) (PTI): After the April 22 Pahalgam attack, security forces turned the focus of their anti-terror operations to specific areas in south Kashmir and eliminated six terrorists in the past three days, officials said on Friday.
"The security agencies reviewed their strategy according to the situation in the wake of terror activities in the last one month and our intensified focus was on operations," said V K Birdi, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir.
The IGP was addressing a press conference with General Officer Commanding, Victor Force, Major General Dhananjay Joshi at the headquarters of the Victor Force here in south Kashmir's Pulwama district.
Birdi said that due to the intensified focus and coordination between various security agencies, two successful operations were conducted in which six terrorists were killed. He termed their elimination "significant achievements".
"These successful operations were possible because of the coordination and synergy among the security and intelligence agencies. We are duty-bound to end any terror activity in Kashmir and we are always ready to stop such acts," the IGP said.
The encounters took place in the Keller area of Shopian and the Nadar area of Tral in Pulwama on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. Three terrorists each were killed in the two operations.
Victor Force GOC Major Joshi said immediately after the Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives, the security forces designated several areas as focus areas.
"We had intelligence inputs that terrorists had moved to the higher reaches after the melting of snow. Keeping that in mind, our domination parties had continuously been deployed in the higher reaches, mountainous areas and forests," he said.
The security agencies received an intelligence input about the presence of terrorists in the Keller area of Shopian on the night of May 12, Major Joshi said.
"So the domination party that was deployed there for some time, relocated itself and in a focused way closed in on the area. They challenged the terrorists who fired at them, leading to an encounter in which three terrorists were neutralised," he said.
About the Tral encounter, the GoC said the operation took place in a different terrain.
"We had inputs and cordoned off the village. The terrorists took positions in different houses and fired. Our challenge was the safe evacuation of innocent civilians including children. Then systematically searches were conducted one by one in the houses and the three terrorists were neutralised in separate places," he added.
The successful conduct of both the operations shows that the security forces will find terrorists wherever they are and neutralise them, Major Joshi said.
Of the six slain terrorists, the main one was Shahid Kuttay, who was involved in major attacks. The attacks included one on a sarpanch in Heerpora, Shopian on May 18 last year and the firing incident at Danish Resort on April 8 last year in which two German tourists and a driver were injured, the officer said.
"Kuttay was also involved in fundraising and other activities," he added.
Neutralisation of both the modules has dealt a blow to terror outfits and will help in stopping terror activities here and bring peace, Maj Joshi said.
