The right to vote is a statutory right, and the petitioner's name had to be included in the electoral roll in order to exercise that right.

JAGADEESAN, J.

The petitioner, a practicing advocate, appeared as party in person. The writ petition has been filed for the following reliefs :

"To issue a writ of mandamus or other appropriate writ or order or direction, directing the respondents herein to provide immediately sufficient number of voting booths to enable his family members, my wife Mrs. Rita Narain, son C. Sumanth Narain, daughter Suchitra Narain and myself C. Lakshmit Narain residing at No. 11, Kandappa Achari Street, Purasawalkam, Madras-600 007 and thousands of citizens who have been deprived of their valuable right to vote due to irresponsible, faulty and motivated preparation of the voters' list, to vote for all the State Assembly and three parlimentary constituencies situated within the City of Madras based on the 1991 voters list and such votes to be counted along with the votes polled already on 2-15-1996 and to pass such further or other orders that may be just and necessary."

2. The petitioner's case is that he has filed this writ petition by way of public interest litigation, since the respondents have failed to ensure the voting rights of his family members and thousands persons living in the City of Madras who have been polling in the earlier elections. Due to no fault of them, because of the arbitrary and inefficient way the voters' list was prepared by the respondents for the general election that took place on 2-5-1996 for several constituencies and three parliamentary constituencies in the City of Madras, the names of thousands of voters are not found in the voters' list when they went to polling booth for voting on 2-5-1996. The apprehension is that the names of the voters had been deliberately left out with mala fide intention.

3. The petitioner is residing with his family at No. I1, Kandappa Achari Street, Purasawalkam, Madras -7 from 1963 onwards. His name and the names of his family members were enumerated in the voters in respect of earlier elections 1989 and 1993. But in the electoral role prepared in 1995, their names have been omitted. By virtue of the omission, the petitioner and his family members had lost their fundamental rights to vote to the candidate of their choice. The deprivation of the voting right during this election amounts to infringement of their fundamental right, as guaranteed .under Article 19 of the Constitution of India. The petitioner has got a positive role to play in electing the Government which is likely to govern the State and Centre for another five years. The denial of voting right for thousands of persons in the City in the election held on 2-5-1996 is a fraud. In the affidavit, he also referred to the newspaper .report with regard to the missing of several names in the voters' list. He came to know about the omission only when he went to the polling booth on 2-5-1996 at 7.15 a.m. Hence the writ petition has been filed.

4. The petitioner vehemently contended that he has got fundamental right to vote and by the omission of his name in the electoral role, he lost his fundamental right guaranteed in the Constitution of India. Further he contended that counting is to take place only on 8th and as such the respondents should be directed to make a press report, giving an opportunity to those persons whose names have been omitted to be included in the voters' list and they should be permitted to poll by notifying a polling booth in that area. Equally the authorities should be directed to make announcement by tom tom with regard to the right of voting in respect of those persons whose names have been omitted to be included in the voters' list; so that those persons whose names have been omitted in the electoral roll can exercise their franchise and till the polling is over, by this mode the counting can be postponed.

5. We have carefully considered the submission of the petitioner. With regard to thc preparation of electoral role referring to all the persons in the Representation of the People Act as well