Independent Morning Bureau. JP Singh
The Central Government has amended the Election Code of Conduct to restrict access of the general public to a part of the election documents. Following the recommendation of the Election Commission, it was implemented through a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice on Friday. Electronic documents such as CCTV camera footage, webcasting footage and video recordings of candidates are not covered under the conduct of elections rules during the Model Code of Conduct period. The Election Commission has made changes in the electoral rules and said that CCTV footage of polling stations cannot be given to the candidates and the general public. It has said that this footage does not fall in the category of documents to be made available. It is being said that after the recent amendment, there has been a ban on giving the footage. However, the Election Commission is calling this amendment a clarification.
Before this amendment, there was a provision under Section 93(2) of the Election Conducting Rules that all other election related documents could be made publicly available with the permission of the court. These changes were made after the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently directed the Election Commission to provide copies of important documents related to the Haryana Assembly elections to advocate Mahmood Pracha. He had filed the petition seeking videography, CCTV camera footage and copies of Form 17-C Part I and II related to election conduct.
The Election Commission said that this was done to protect the privacy and security of voters. But Congress has attacked the Modi government regarding these changes. Through this, it has accused the Election Commission of damaging its transparency and destroying the integrity of the electoral process.
There is no specific obligation under the existing rules for the Election Commission to make any videographic records or CCTV footage available to the public. The detailed rules contain a list of records that can be made public after a court direction. One line has been added in Friday's amendment. In this, by adding this line after the word 'papers' in clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 93, the Election Commission has made it clear that 'papers' will not include any such documents or electronic records which are not included in the rules. It is not written clearly. Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh has said that his party will challenge this amendment in the courts. He said, 'If there was ever a vindication of our claim in recent times that the Election Commission has destroyed the integrity of the electoral process, this is it.'
Rule 93(2)(a) of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 previously stated that “all other papers relating to an election shall be open to public inspection”. After the amendment, it now reads, “All other papers relating to elections specified in these rules shall be open to public inspection.”
The move follows the recent direction given by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the Election Commission to share all documents related to the Haryana Assembly elections, including CCTV footage, under Rule 93 of the Conduct of Election Rules. (2), and this direction was shared with the petitioner named Mahmood Pracha.
According to a senior Election Commission official, “The rules mention election papers. Election papers and documents do not specifically mention electronic records. This will be done to remove the ambiguity and prevent violation of secrecy of voting and by a person “In view of the serious issue of possible misuse of CCTV footage inside the polling station by using Artificial Intelligence, the rule has been amended to prevent misuse of CCTV footage inside the polling station.”
He said, “Sharing CCTV footage can have serious consequences, especially in sensitive areas like Jammu and Kashmir, Naxal-affected areas, etc., where privacy is important. The lives of voters can also be at risk. are also available for public inspection.”
“Candidates have access to all documents, papers and records in any case. Even Mr Pracha was entitled to all documents and records from his constituency when he filed his nomination as a candidate in the Lok Sabha elections 2024,” the official said. I had contested the elections.” He said that no amendment has been made in the rules in this regard. However, RTI activists termed the move as a blow to transparency. Transparency activist Anjali Bhardwaj said, “A huge blow to transparency! Modi government amended Rule 93(2) of the Conduct of Elections Rules to restrict people's right of access to election records after the High Court order The applications we filed in May 2024 under Rule 93(2) for copies of Form 17C are still pending.”
Venkatesh Nayak, director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, told The Hindu, “From preliminary investigations it appears that the amendment is aimed at restricting citizen-voters' access to a large number of documents created during parliamentary and state assembly elections, Many of which are not specifically mentioned in the Governing Election Rules; instead, they are mentioned in booklets and manuals published by the Election Commission from time to time.” Some of these records are reports submitted by election observers, scrutiny reports submitted by returning officers after polling and index cards sent to the Election Commission of India after the declaration of results, which contain detailed data related to the election.
Nayak said that in view of the controversy over voting percentage in the recently held Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, access to the diaries of presiding officers, which contain details of voting percentage at different times on the polling day, is not mentioned in the election rules. Detailed data of the number of tokens distributed by them and the number of tokens distributed by them to the voters standing in the queue at the time of closing of poll is also mentioned. “Nevertheless, access to such documents is very important to assess the fairness of elections. The purpose of the amendment is to prevent access to such documents and many other reports and returns that are filed by various election officials.”
The opposition Congress claimed that the change in election conduct rules reinforces its claim that the integrity of the electoral process managed by the Election Commission of India is rapidly eroding. Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said in a post on Twitter, “If there is any confirmation of our claims in recent days about the rapidly diminishing integrity of the electoral process managed by the Election Commission of India, it is this. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and information will restore confidence in the process – an argument with which the Punjab and Haryana High Court agreed when it directed the ECI to share all the information it is legally required to share with the public.”
He said, “Yet instead of following the decision, the Election Commission rushed to amend the law to shorten the list of things that can be shared. Why is the Election Commission so afraid of transparency? Why is the Election Commission so afraid of transparency? The move will be immediately legally challenged.”
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