Kochi: The Kerala High Court has dismissed a plea alleging that more than 20,000 officials deployed on election duty were denied postal voting facilities, ruling that it could not step in at the final stage of the election process.

Passing the order, Justice K V Jayakumar observed that judicial intervention was not possible at this advanced stage of the electoral process. The petition had sought directions to the Election Commission to provide voting facilities to the affected officials.

Filed by organisations including the Kerala NGO Union and the Joint Council of State Service Organisations, the petition claimed that 20,411 officials had been deprived of their right to vote through postal ballots. The petitioners also sought immediate issuance of postal ballots and arrangements for them to vote at voter facilitation centres.

Considering it, the High Court took note of the Election Commission’s submission that the postal ballots had already been secured in strong rooms in accordance with prescribed procedures and that reopening them before counting begins at 8 am on May 4 would affect the sanctity, fairness and secrecy of the electoral process. The court, however, rejected the Commission’s contention that the petition itself was not maintainable.

Appearing for the Election Commission, Standing Counsel Deepu Lal Mohan informed the court that the petitioners could pursue an election petition after the completion of the election process.

The petitioners had also presented district wise figures before the court, claiming that 20,411 officials had lost their chance to vote. According to them, the highest number of such cases were reported from Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Palakkad and Kozhikode districts. However, the Commission pointed out that no names or detailed particulars of those officials had been submitted to it.