The court mandates police protection for the smooth conduct of elections and allows videography at polling booths to ensure transparency.

P.V.KUNHIKRISHNAN, J.

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W.P.(C) Nos. 46092, 46138, 46142, 46163, 46178 & 46188 of 2025 ------------------------------------------------

Dated this the 08th day of December, 2025.

JUDGMENT

This Court as per the judgment dated 04.12.2025 in W.P.(C) No.45460 of 2025 and connected cases, has already issued general directions regarding police protection for the General Election – 2025 to the local bodies. The same directions can be issued in these cases as well.

Therefore, these Writ Petitions are disposed of in the following manner:

1. The police authorities and the officers of the State Election Commission will do the needful to see that the General Election – 2025 to the local bodies is smoothly conducted on 9^th and 11^th of December, 2025.

2. The State Police Chief and the jurisdictional District Police Chief will do the needful for live web casting and for deputing additional police force in the booths which are identified by the State Election Commission as hyper sensitive booths and sensitive booths.

3. If any of the petitioners’ want videography in any of their polling booths, they can file an application before the jurisdictional District Election Officer within three days from today. If such an application is filed, the jurisdictional District Election Officers will allow videography at the expense of the applicants’ concerned. If any application is already filed to that effect, the same will be allowed at the expense of the applicants’ concerned.

4. The petitioners are free to file appropriate application for police protection to the life of the candidates, their agents etc., before the jurisdictional District Police Chief or Commissioner of Police within three days. If such an application is received, sufficient protection should be given to those persons in accordance with the law.

5. I make it clear that, if there is any law and order problem, the State Police Chief and the District Police Chief concerned will see that additional police force is deputed to that area. For that purpose, the candidates or their agents can submit appropriate application and if the police officers are convinced about the genuineness of the same, the jurisdictional police officers will do the needful to depute the additional police force.