New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has sought the Election Commission of India (ECI) to give details about the guidelines it has for preserving CCTV footage of election process, The Indian Express reported.
The court was responding to a plea by an independent candidate for the Rampur Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh, Advocate Mehmood Pracha.
Pracha who sought the poll body to preserve relevant videos of election process did not receive any response.
Subsequently, a single judge bench of Justice Sachin Datta issued notice to the poll body on May 10, asking it to file the affidavit within a week and listed the matter on May 16.
“The ECI is directed to file an affidavit as regards the videography/CCTV coverage which is maintained with regard to the EVMs after the conduct of First Level Check (FLC) till the stage referred to in para 6.1.1(e) of the Manual on Electronic Voting Machine (Edition 8 August 2023). The affidavit shall also indicate the applicable norms/guidelines laid down/ being followed for the preservation of the video/CCTV footage at various stages of the electoral process,” Justice Dutta was quoted as saying.
The plea said it is ‘imperative’ to protect the footage of the election process for 45 days from the date of election, perhaps requiring them in the event of filing an election petition in terms of Section 81 of the Representation of the People Act.
The plea added that it is among various safeguards for transparency in voting that the ECI’s Manual on Electronic Voting Machine has in place.
“The Manual mandates CCTV coverage of the security measures for polled EVM strong rooms. The Manual mandates constant Videography of all the entry points of the Polled EVM strong room. The CCTV footage is imperative in the event of a challenge to the polling results,” the plea said.