SC directs EC to preserve poll video recordings amid plea against increased voters per booth

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Election Commission to ensure that video recordings of polling are preserved while the challenge to the poll panel’s decision to increase the number of voters per polling station is pending, Live Law reported.

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar gave the direction while hearing a public interest litigation challenging the Election Commission’s decision in August to increase the maximum number of electors per polling station from 1,200 to 1,500.

The court granted the Election Commission additional time to file its reply and directed it to ensure that the video recordings of polling are preserved while the matter was pending.

In the previous hearing, advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the petitioner, had argued that the move would create challenges for electors and amounted to an act of voter disenfranchisement.

The Election Commission’s decision could lead to the exclusion of underprivileged groups from the polling process as they may not be able to carve out the spare disproportionate time from their daily schedules to cast their ballots, Singhvi had argued.

The petitioner argued that the Commission’s decision was not supported by data. There has been no Census since 2011 and therefore, there is no fresh data to guide the panel’s decision, the petitioner pointed out.

“By increasing this limit…

Read more