The court affirms the necessity of police protection for the smooth conduct of local elections and allows applications for additional security.

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 this case as well.

Therefore, this Writ Petition is 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 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 application is already filed for videography in polling booths, the same should be allowed at the expense of the applicants concerned.

4. The petitioner is 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. 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.