eci-refuses-to-share-cctv-citing-legal-norms

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s demand to release CCTV footage from polling stations during last year’s Maharashtra election, citing privacy concerns and legal constraints.

 

The poll body reaction was as Gandhi again alleged that the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance's victory in the 2023 Maharashtra Assembly polls was rigged.

 

Gandhi had requested the ECI to make all CCTV footage captured after 5 p.m. on election day, as well as consolidated digital voter lists from the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, public.

 

The ECI, sources said, said that releasing the video footage would intrude into the privacy of electors, both those who have cast their vote and those who haven't.

 

"Sharing of the footage, which would allow easy identification of the electors by any group or individual, would render both the elector who has voted and the elector who has not voted susceptible to pressure, discrimination and intimidation by anti-social elements," the sources added.

 

The commission made it clear that CCTV images from polling stations are only for internal observation and not for public release. It may be released only if directed by a court of law in a case related to an election.

 

Secondly, the ECI referred to legal sections of the Representation of the People Act, prohibiting the dissemination of such information without authorisation.

 

The authorities indicated that public disclosure of information regarding the person who voted or did not vote without legal permission can lead to criminal proceedings involving imprisonment or fines.

 

In a trenchant response to Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the ECI emphasized that voting — and abstaining from voting — are both guaranteed rights under the Constitution.

 

It quoted a Supreme Court ruling establishing the secrecy of not voting as being similar in significance to a secret ballot.

 

The commission also likened video shots to Form 17A, a document maintaining the voter information, and emphasized that both have to be safeguarded with the same sensitivity.

 

In the last month, the ECI also gave orders directing state-level poll authorities to delete webcasting and video records after 45 days in case election outcomes are not legally challenged within that timeframe.