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The move came after the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the ECI to provide all the information, including video and CCTV footage pertaining to a particular booth in the recent Haryana assembly elections, to the petitioner.
According to sources in the ECI, the candidate already has access to all documents and papers, and nothing has been amended in the rules in this regard. File pic/PTI
A gazette notice from the union law department is creating a political storm since Saturday morning over the Election Commission of India’s decision to “rush through amendments to narrow down the list of what can be shared” with the public after a court order. However, News18 learned that the decision was made to prevent misuse of CCTV footage.
As per the notification dated December 20, the minister changed Rule 93(2)(a) of the Electoral Conduct Rules of 1961 under the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Until now, the law stated that “all other papers relating to elections. shall be open to public inspection”. However, from now on it has been changed to “all other documents as specified in these laws relating to elections shall be open to public inspection”.
The action came after the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the ECI to provide all the information, including video and CCTV footage pertaining to a particular booth in the recent Haryana assembly elections, to the petitioner.
What was changed and why
According to sources in the ECI, the candidate already has access to all documents and papers, and nothing has been amended in the rules in this regard.
“Recently, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in a case—Mahmoud Pracha vs ECI—ordered the sharing of all documents related to the Haryana assembly elections including the handling of CCTV footage as permitted under Rule 93(2) of the Conduct of Elections Act in Pracha,” a polling agency official said. we told News18.
The law mentioned election papers, but election papers and documents do not specifically refer to electronic records, he said.
“In order to remove this ambiguity and look at the serious issue of the violation of the secrecy of voting and the misuse of CCTV images inside the polling center using the intelligence of one person, the law has been amended to prevent the misuse of CCTV images inside. at the polling station,” they said.
Another official explained that sharing CCTV footage could have serious consequences, especially in sensitive areas like J&K and Naxal-affected districts where privacy is important.
“Voters’ lives can also be at risk. “All election papers and documents are available for public inspection,” said the official.
The official added that candidates, in any case, have access to all documents, papers and records.
“Even Pracha had the right to get all the documents and records of his constituency when he contested the Lok Sabha Elections 2024,” said the official.
Congress will challenge the order
The Congress has criticized the move, saying that if ever there was a vindication of the rhetoric about the erosion of the integrity of the electoral process managed by the Election Commission of India in recent times, this was it.
“Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and information will restore faith in the process – a statement that the Punjab and Haryana High Court agreed with when it ordered the ECI to share all information legally required to do so with the public. However, the ECI, instead of complying with the decision, is rushing to amend the law to reduce the list of what can be shared. Why is ECI so afraid of transparency? This move by ECI will be challenged legally immediately,” said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on social media platform X.
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