Petitions allege new rules limit CCTV access, threaten transparency of electoral process.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted the Election Commission of India (EC) an additional three weeks to file its response to petitions contesting recent amendments to the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar had first sought replies from the Centre and the EC on January 15 after issuing notice on a plea by Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the poll panel, sought more time, which the court allowed, listing the matter for the week beginning July 21.
Alongside Ramesh’s petition, two public interest litigations filed by Shyam Lal Pal and activist Anjali Bhardwaj are pending. The petitioners argue the amendments “cleverly” block public access to CCTV and webcasting footage from polling stations, claiming this undermines transparency without revealing voter choices.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi appeared for Ramesh. They maintain that CCTV recordings cannot expose individual votes and urged swift filing of responses. The government says the rule change prevents misuse of sensitive electronic records.
“The integrity of the electoral process is fast eroding. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will help restore it,” Ramesh said earlier.
