Modi govt amends election rules restricting public access to certain poll documents

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has amended the Conduct of Election Rules to restrict access to a section of poll documents that were earlier available for the public.

Earlier, activists said, documents like reports and other communication by Returning Officers, Polling Officers and Observers among others could be accessed but with the changes in rules, it will now be difficult. Congress General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said this move would be "challenged legally right away".

The amendment notified by the Ministry of Law and Justice on Friday came on a recommendation from the Election Commission, which wanted restrictions on the types of "papers" open to public scrutiny.

Defending the amendment, EC sources claimed that a candidate already has access to all documents and papers and nothing has been amended to prevent that.

The amendment to the rules came within two weeks of the Punjab and Haryana High Court asking the Election Commission to provide video footage and copies of documents related to votes polled at a polling station in recent Haryana Assembly elections to lawyer Mehmood Pracha.

Sources said the amendment basically prevents public inspection of certain electronic documents such as CCTV and webcasting footage.

The rule mentioned election papers and it does not specifically refer to electronic records and in order to remove this ambiguity and considering the serious issue of violation of secrecy of vote and potential misuse of CCTV footage of inside the polling station using artificial intelligence by a single person, sources claimed, the rule has been amended.

The Rule 93(2)(a) of the 1961 Conduct of Election Rules earlier stated that “all other papers relating to the election shall be open to public inspection” but rule after the amendment on Friday reads, “all other papers as specified in these rules relating to the election shall be open to public inspection.”

Activists claimed that the insertion of “as specified in these rules” restrict access to a range of official documents created during the elections to Parliament and Assemblies, which are not specified in the rules.

Ramesh said, “If there was ever a vindication of our assertions regarding the rapidly eroding integrity of the electoral process managed by the Election Commission of India in recent times, this is it. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and information will restore faith in the process – a reasoning the Punjab and Haryana High Court agreed with when it directed the ECI to share all information that it is legally required to do so with the public.”

“Yet the ECI, instead of complying with the judgment, rushes to amend the law to curtail the list of what can be shared. Why is the ECI so afraid of transparency? This move of the ECI will be challenged legally right away," he added.

RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak said there are a range of documents that are not mentioned in the rules but created by election officials such as Presiding Officers, Sector Officers who conduct vulnerability mapping of constituencies and are responsible for EVM movement and replacing those which become defective on polling day, reports of general, police and expenditure observers, Returning Officers and Chief Electoral Officers.

“Access to them is crucial for determining the fairness of elections and correctness of the results,” Nayak told DH. Transparency activist Anjali Bhardwaj called the amendment a "huge setback for transparency" and added, "applications we filed in May 2024 under Rule 93(2) for copies of Form 17C are still pending."

Pracha said the new amendment would withhold information. “It is a reconfirmation of the state of the Election Commission that it is biased,” he said.

Nayak added, “this amendment violates the principle of complete transparency laid down by the Supreme Court in the Electoral Bonds case. The notification of this amendment on the very day when Parliament was adjourned sine die has denied MPs the opportunity of questioning its necessity contemporaneously.”