Minor inside polling booth: Maharashtra SEC suspends polling official, police constable

The Maharashtra State Election Commission has ordered the suspension of a polling officer and a police constable in Solapur district for allowing a minor boy to enter a polling booth along with his father, a candidate in the recent Zilla Parishad elections.

The action follows the circulation of a video on social media showing a 14-year-old boy standing inside the polling compartment and pressing the electronic voting machine (EVM) button while accompanying his father, Arjun Sinh Mohite Patil , at the Yashwant Nagar polling station in Akluj. The incident occurred during the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections held on February 7.

In a letter addressed to the Solapur district collector on February 10, the State Election Commission said that permitting a child inside the polling compartment amounted to a violation of election rules, which mandate that only the voter is allowed inside the booth to ensure the secrecy of the ballot.

Based on a preliminary inquiry, the Commission found negligence in the discharge of election duties by polling officer Anna Savata Budhe and police constable Gajanan Sitaram Rajut , who were deployed at the polling station. The SEC ordered their immediate suspension and initiated departmental disciplinary proceedings against them.

The Commission also directed the district administration to submit a detailed compliance report at the earliest. It further stated that an FIR has been registered in connection with the incident, naming Mohite Patil, and instructed the collector to furnish a factual report on the status of the case and the action taken thereafter.

The SEC reiterated that election rules must be strictly enforced at polling stations to maintain the integrity and fairness of the electoral process.