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Now, Not All Election-Related Documents are Available for Public Inspection as Centre Changes Rules

The change came into effect days after Punjab and Haryana high court directed the EC to provide a petitioner, the ‘videography, security camera footage and copies of documents related to votes’ cast at a particular polling station.
Representational image: Election officials in Haryana. Photo: X/@ECISVEEP
Representational image: Election officials in Haryana. Photo: X/@ECISVEEP
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New Delhi: The Union government has changed the rules for conducting elections on Friday (December 20) as far as accessibility of the election-related documents are concerned. As per the new rules, not all election-related documents would be available for inspection by public.

Scroll reported that this change came into effect days after Punjab and Haryana high court directed the Election Commission (EC) to provide Mehmood Prachana, an advocate, the ‘videography, security camera footage and copies of documents related to votes’ cast at a particular polling station during the recent Haryana assembly elections.

The earlier provision as specified under ‘Rule 93(2)(a) of the 1961 Conduct of Election Rules’ stated that “all other papers relating to the election shall be open to public inspection.”

However, the amended rules say that instead of all poll-related documents, only those which are now listed in the amended version, will be put in the public domain

The changed rules say: “All other papers as specified in these rules relating to the election shall be open to public inspection.”

Also read: Why Residents of a Maharashtra Village Wanted to Conduct a Mock Election

With this development, even the courts would not be able to direct the EC to share the documents that are not listed in the new rules. Thus, the public can no longer access all the poll- related documents. 

The new rules were notified by the Union ministry of law and justice in consultation with the EC. 

Scroll quoted an EC official claiming that his office had been thinking about changing the rules and they were finally changed following the fresh directive from the high court 

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said this change was a vindication of the Opposition’s stand that the  ‘electoral integrity’ is being compromised. He asked the EC why it did not want to share the requisite information that the high court had asked it to.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal also took a dig at the government. “This means something is very wrong,” Kejriwal wrote on X. 

Maharashtra Congress coordinator Bhausaheb Ajabe also questioned this move of the government.

Former Rajya Sabha MP Jawahar Sircar underlined that Narendra Modi government and Election Commission are “frightened” and taking away “rights”. 

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