Decline to Vote - Election Commission of India Rule

Today I came across the following on the Election Commission of India website:

11. Can you decline to cast your vote at the last stage?

11.1 The law enables a voter to decline casting his vote at the last stage. If you decide not to cast your vote after having signed on the Register of Voters and after having received the voters’ slip from the Second Polling Officer, you must inform the Presiding Officer immediately. He will then take back the voters’ slip from you and proceed to record in the remarks column of the Register of Voters that you have declined to exercise your franchise and you will be required to put your signature under such entry. After this is done, you can leave the polling station without proceeding to the Voting Compartment

Many times, I don't like to vote for the candidates because I feel that they do not deserve to be elected. However, I don't want someone else to vote in my name (poll rigging/fraud) in my absence. Thus, I go and vote for the better candidate of the two. Now, I can go to the polling station, get an entry next to my name saying that "I've declined to exercise my vote". At least, I can avoid letting people committing poll fraud using my name.

Know this before a Property Purchase

I had purchased a flat in an apartment complex in Bangalore. I got into an agreeement with the builder in August 2005. I was given the possession of the flat in August 2008 with only the flat completed to 95%. The rest of the apartment complex is still under construction; even now it is under construction but, in a decent living condition. The registration is yet to happen. There were delays at every stage of this apartment complex during these 4+ years. Many of these delays are because of the personal agenda to be run by the builder and the landowner, where the landowner had given the builder an authorization to construct via a joint development agreement. The personal agenda is about sharing all the extra construction beyond the approved plans that is happening in the apartment complex.

In all these four years, I had learnt the following:

1. Do not buy in an apartment complex where the builder and the land owner are different entities. In my case, the builder had delays in the project construction (some speculate that it is induced by the land owner to gain maximum benefit), which required the builder to pay penalties to the land owner. In lieu of these penalties, the builder is giving right to the club house to the landowner. The landowner now rents out portions of this club house for commercial activities. In addition to this, the builder is constructing several unauthorized flats that are most likely to go to the land owner. Note: The total undivided share of land divided amongst the flats in the approved plan is 79% of the total land area on which the complex is built. This means the builder had intention of building more flats right at the beginning when the agreement was made.


2. Check to see if any litigations are pending. Most often, the documents do not indicate that litigations are pending. Yesterday, after reading a court order document, I realized that there was one pending litigation when the development agreement was made between the builder and the land owner, which the purchasers (like me) are unaware of.


3. Ensure that the sale agreement and sale deed (registered document) both have the same description of the property. The builders make initial agreement with wordings that are good to read. When they make the sale deed, they reduce the scope of the property significantly. This reduced scope allows them to build more in the same area.


4. Do read and understand the scope of Service Tax, VAT that needs to be paid. You might get surprises later.


5. Do all communications to the builder by sending a latter through a registered-post-acknowledgment-due.


6. Pay on time to avoid penalties for delayed payment


7. Insist on construction linked payment plan. This allows you to pay only when the construction happens.


8. Club house membership fee charged. Don't assume that you own a share in the club house unless the sale deed says so.


9. Finally, get/check approved plans from BDA even before getting into agreement

Note: Lawyers to legal verification based on the documents you give them, which are given to you by the builder. The builder might give only those documents that make him look perfectly legal :) Some of the aspects apply to a plot purchase.

Happy property purchasing :)