Kerala HC junks plea for recording votes of rehab centre inmates in separate EVM
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New Delhi: The Kerala High Court junked a plea seeking to record the votes of inmates in rehabilitation centres in a separate electronic voting machine saying that labelling a person as mentally ill creates social exclusion, The Indian Express reported.
Justice P V Kunhikrishnan was responding to a plea that argued that inmates of a mental health rehabilitation facility could not vote in polls on their will, thus seeking directions to record their votes in separate electronic voting machine for 2025 general elections.
The court made it clear that calling a person as mentally ills ‘creates social stigma and various forms of discrimination and undermines their dignity’.
It added that the court declaring them as persons of unsound mind without hearing them is not only an injustice but also an insult to them.
Expanding on it further the court noted: ‘Labelling a person as ‘mentally ill’ creates social stigma and various forms of discrimination, emotional harm, promotes social exclusion and undermines their dignity.’
Responding to the petitioners, the court pointed out that the persons that the petitioners alleged as mentally ill were not even made parties to the petition.
The court said that the persons in the rehabilitation centre as the petitioners argue suffering from mental illness should have been made party through a ‘fit person’.
Elucidating further it said ‘this court cannot presume that they are mentally challenged persons or suffering from mental illness. It will be an insult to them if this court proceeds like that, especially when they are not a party in this writ petition’.
Alongside referring to Section 74(1)(b) of the Kerala Municipality Act, the court said even if persons were assumed to be suffering from mental illness would not disqualify them from registration in an electoral roll.
The provision reportedly says that ‘a person shall be disqualified for registration in an electoral roll if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court’.