ADR denies filing false affidavit in Supreme Court, says document tendered in response to query

New Delhi: Poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) denied allegations on Saturday that it filed a false affidavit in the Supreme Court, clarifying that the document in question was never formally submitted but merely "tendered across the bar" in response to a query from the bench.

The clarification came a day after media reports cited comments made by the Election Commission's (EC) lawyer during an apex court hearing, suggesting that the affidavit contained inaccuracies and that the voter mentioned did not exist in the electoral roll.

In a detailed statement, ADR said it "stands by its values of accurate dissemination of information" and rejected the EC counsel's assertion as "incorrect and misleading".

"All the above facts are correct, as can be checked on the ECI website. Thus, the assertion by ECI counsel that the said voter does not exist or that the EPIC belongs to some other individual is incorrect and misleading. In fact, ECI could have and would have easily checked these details through his EPIC number; instead, they asserted that he was a fake voter or that the address did not belong to him," the statement said.

The NGO said all voter details provided in the affidavit could be verified on the EC's website.

It also explained that the voter's name had appeared in the "Draft Roll-2025" published on the EC's website in January.

"It is to be noted that both the 'Draft Roll-2025' and the 'SIR Draft 2025' have been published by the ECI on the same web link and same drop-down menu," the organisation said, sharing screenshots of the relevant entries.

The non-profit further expressed concern over reports that the elector in question was "hounded, summoned and threatened" by officials following the Supreme Court hearing on October 7.

"This will further create more distrust, fear and reluctance on the part of electors to come forward in case of their deletion from the electoral rolls," it warned.