The Supreme Court has declined to interfere in the voting system and pattern in Rajya Sabha. To check cross-voting, however, the Rajya Sabha polls are ‘open”. Each MLA will have to show his or her marked ballot to the party’s authorised agent in the polling booth, before they are put into the ballot box.
Showing a marked ballot to anyone other than the own party’s authorized agent will render the vote invalid. Not showing the ballot to the agent will also mean that the vote cannot be counted.
Independent candidates are barred from showing their ballots to anyone. However, the cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls does not attract disqualification.
The Supreme Court, while declining to interfere with the open ballot system, ruled that not voting for the party candidate will not attract disqualification under the anti-defection law.
As voters, MLAs retain their freedom to vote for a candidate of their choice. However, the court observed that since the party would know who voted against its own candidate, it is free to take disciplinary action against the legislator concerned.
