The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Election Commission to give appropriate consideration to a petition raising concerns over alleged duplication of names in the voters’ list in the capital and adopt technical tools that would help in eliminating such duplication.
When the petitioner’s counsel remarked that by the time the Commission would consider his plea, the Delhi Assembly elections would be over, a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru said, “These cases come up before every election. “
The bench, which also included Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, said, “There is a process for amendment of the voter list. It cannot be done at this stage.”
The petitioner remarked that even the “former Chief Minister” is unhappy with the issue. Advocate Siddhant Kumar, appearing for the Election Commission, said that not a single example of alleged duplication has been shown in the petition.
He further said that the Commission has already initiated the necessary process for revision of voter lists and even the Supreme Court has considered the issue.
The court told the Election Commission’s lawyer, “They said there are two tools. If you think that comparable tools exist like the one you used, that’s fine. You don’t have to do anything. If you think That these devices are better, we are just asking you not to close your mind.”
“In view of the above, we deem it appropriate to dispose of the petition by directing the respondents (Election Commission and Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi) to consider the averments made in the petition at the appropriate level,” he said.
The court ordered that, needless to say, if the Commission finds such technological tools which will assist the Commission in eliminating duplicate names, they will be adopted.
Petitioner political party Rashtravadi Adarsh Mahasangh, in its PIL, has alleged that there are many duplicate entries in the Delhi voter list and necessary steps have not been taken to remove such names.
The petition states that there are certain technological tools that can be used to detect counterfeiting. It was, therefore, prayed that directions should be issued to the election authorities to adopt the same and remove such entries.