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In a significant observation, the Supreme Court recently reiterated that neither the right to vote nor the right to contest an election is a fundamental right. The two rights are distinct from each other, and the right to contest is subject to stricter regulations, such as, in terms of qualifications, disqualifications, and institutional requirements.

 

A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan made the observation while dealing with an election dispute related to District Milk Unions in Rajasthan.The judgment authored by Justice Mahadevan observed : "It is well settled that neither the right to vote nor the right to contest an election is a fundamental right. In Jyoti Basu and others v. Debi Ghosal and others AIR 1982 SC 983 and Javed and other v. State of Haryana and others (2003) 8 SCC 369, this Court authoritatively held that these rights are purely statutory in nature and exist only to the extent conferred by statute.

 

While the right to vote enables a member to exercise franchise in accordance with the statutory scheme, the right to contest an election or to be elected is a distinct and additional right which may legitimately be made subject to qualifications, eligibility conditions, and disqualifications" 

 

Referring to judicial precedents on the subject, including Supreme Court Bar Association v. B.D Kaushik, it said, "a clear doctrinal distinction emerges: the right to vote is the right to participate in the electoral process by exercising franchise; and the right to contest is a distinct and additional right, enabling a person to seek election to an office.

 

 The latter is inherently subject to stricter regulation, including qualifications, disqualifications, and institutional requirements." In the 2023 Constitution Bench judgment in Anoop Baranwal, Justice Ajay Rastogi had opined that the right to vote is a fundamental right, whereas the majority held that it was only a Constitutional right.

 

 Background The dispute pertained to elections to the Management Committee (Boards of Directors) of various District Milk Unions in the State of Rajasthan. Particularly, the challenge was against Bye-law Nos. 20.1(2), 20.1(4), 20.2(7) and 20.2(9) framed by the District Milk Unions which prescribed qualifications for contesting the elections to the Board of Directors.