Elections - Exempted Categories Poling Personal- Poling Duties Exemption Rules

Elections - Exempted Categories Poling Personal- Poling Duties Exemption Rules. What are the Exemption Rules for Election Duty, Who can be given exemption under dire necessity?. As per the Hand Book of Returning Officers for General Elections, Document 23 Edition 1 released in Feb 2019 by Election Commission of India, Rule 3 deals with appointment of Polling Personal for Elections, and the Sub Rules 3.1. Legal Provisions, 3.2 General Guidelines, 3.3 Exempted Categories for General Elections Election Duty. The Commission has exempted certain officers from being drafted for election duty in view of essential nature of duties/service discharged by them. Some of the Points in the Exempted Categories are, "any official due to retire within 6 months’ time, All pregnant women and lactating mothers, whether on maternity leave or not, or who are otherwise on medical advice not to undertake any rigorous or hazardous work, may be exempted from election duty". Physically challenged persons with disabilities as defined under the “Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities Protection of Rights & Full Participation) Act, 1995 should not be deployed on election duty. Complete Details with Rule position as mentioned by ECI in its official website are given below.

Elections - Exempted Categories Poling Personal- Poling Duties Exemption Rules

3.3 EXEMPTED CATEGORIES
3.3.1 The Commission has exempted certain officers from being drafted for election duty in view of essential nature of duties/service discharged by them.
3.3.2 The officers and staff of following departments will not be requisitioned for deployment of election duty:

• • Such officers of the Indian Forest Service as notified by ECI;
• • Doctors and Compounders working in veterinary hospitals;
• • Officers working in Grade – B (Cattle Extension Officer) in veterinary hospitals;
• • Medical staff including doctors, nurses, ANMs etc.;
• • Territorial Staff of Forest Department;
• • Staff of All India Radio;
• • Staff of Doordarshan;
• • Officers of Food Corporation of India;
• • Ayurvedic, Unani & Homeopathic Medical Officer of Ayush Deptt. 

3.3.3 The operational/technical staff of BSNL, MTNL, UPSC and educational institutions will be requisitioned for election duty only in unavoidable circumstances.

3.3.4 Officer/staff of Commercial Bank located in rural area and if happens to be a single officer branch, need not be deployed.

3.3.5 However, it is further to be noted that any official due to retire within 6 months’ time or who has already retired but is on extension of service or re-employed should not be drafted for any election related duty. It is clarified that while drawing persons for election duties, Returning Officer should explore the possibility of asking for persons from all such Corporations/PSU only so that it is not too much of a strain on a particular organization.

3.4 Women Officials - (Women Persons Allotment of Duties - Exemptions)

1. 3.4.1 The availability of female polling personnel should be examined for appointing Presiding/ Polling Officers in polling stations set up exclusively for female voters or where the number of female voters, especially, pardanashin women is large, there must be at least one lady-polling officer who may identify the women electors.www.apteachers.in
2. 3.4.2 All pregnant women and lactating mothers, whether on maternity leave or not, or who are otherwise on medical advice not to undertake any rigorous or hazardous work, may be exempted from election duty.
3. 3.4.3 Every female official called for election duty should be informed of the arrangements made for her stay. Unless arrangement is made and information in this behalf is furnished to such female official, she shall not be called to perform any election duty at any such place.
4. 3.4.4 The female polling personnel should not be put on duty on the basis of computer randomization process. They should be put on duty in the neighbouring polling stations through manual randomization by the Observers, so that they are able to go to the polling stations on the morning of the poll day. (ECI Instruction No. 464/INST/2009 dated 22.09.2009 & No. 464/INST/2014-EPS dated 10.03.2014).

3.5 Judicial Officers

3.5.1 The employment of Judicial Officers for election work will be subject to the following conditions: 

1. a) The present practice of obtaining the prior approval of the High Court before engaging Judicial Officers for election work should continue;
2. b) Civil Judicial Officers of and above the rank of District Munsif or any rank corresponding thereto will not be engaged for election work in any capacity;
3. c) Judicial Magistrates may not be appointed as Sector Magistrates in charge of law and order duties or engaged as Presiding or Polling Officers of Polling Stations; and
4. d) In States where there is no separation of judiciary and executive, Executive Magistrates may be put in charge of law and order work in connection with election; provided a sufficient number of them are left out for dealing with criminal cases arising out of the law and order situation relating to elections. In these states also, no Civil Judicial Officer should be detailed in any capacity for election work.

3.6 Persons with Disabilities 

1. 3.6.1 Physically challenged persons with disabilities as defined under the “Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities Protection of Rights & Full Participation) Act, 1995 should not be deployed on election duty. In the case of physically handicapped persons (including visually handicapped and deaf and dumb persons), it may be considered whether any handicapped person as aforesaid would be able to go to the polling station/ counting Centre and perform election duties there. If any a person would not be in a position to perform election duties, he must be exempted subject to the satisfaction of the District Election Officer/Returning Officer.
2. 3.6.2 The DEO and the RO shall make personal efforts to ensure that the special needs and requirements of the physically challenged persons are taken into account while choosing the polling station for deployment. It shall be ensured that they are not posted in any remote area; rather they should invariably be posted at the polling stations located in the headquarter. This can be incorporated in the randomization software itself so that the database contains information about the physically challenged personnel, if any and if drafted on election duty those persons are not be posted in any difficult location even inadvertently.
3. 3.6.3 The RO should make a special effort to identify such individuals at the time of training itself and personally meet and discuss with them in order to understand their nature of disabilities and limitations and decide the deployment. In case any such physically challenged person even inadvertently deputed to any difficult location, the RO should be in a position to make necessary change manually in consultation with the Observer (ECI Instruction No.464/INST/2008/EPS Date: 23rd December 2008).

Note: Final decision depends on the discretion of District Election Officer

Download the Returning Officers Hand Book containing All Rules