According to the Justice Department and European Commission officials, a lawsuit prompted the change
New Delhi:
The government has amended an election rule to prevent public inspection of certain electronic documents, such as CCTV cameras, webcasting footage and video recordings of candidates, to prevent their misuse. This has led the opposition to accuse the government of “eroding the integrity of the electoral process”.
European Commission officials have said that misuse of CCTV camera footage from voting booths could compromise voter secrecy. They also said that the images can be used to generate fake stories using artificial intelligence (AI).
The Union Law Ministry on Friday amended Rule 93(2)(a) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 to restrict the kind of 'papers' or documents open to public inspection, based on a recommendation by the Election Commission (EC). .
According to Article 93, all “papers” related to elections must be public. However, the amendment inserts “as specified in these rules” after “papers.”
According to the Justice Department and European Commission officials, a lawsuit prompted the change.
While documents such as nomination forms, appointment of election agents, results and election account statements are mentioned in the Election Rules, electronic documents such as CCTV camera footage, webcasting footage and video recordings of candidates during the model code period are not included.
“CCTV reporting and webcasting of polling stations are not carried out under the rules of conduct for elections, but are the result of steps taken by the European Commission to ensure a level playing field,” a former EU official told news agency PTI.
Another EC official said there have been cases where such electronic data has been requested, citing the rules. “The amendment will ensure that only the documents referred to in the rules will be available for public inspection and any other document that does not have a reference in the rules will not be allowed for public inspection.”
All this material is still available to candidates, including visual material, as people can always go to court to obtain electronic data, an EC official said, adding that candidates already have access to all documents and papers and that in this nothing has changed in the rules. .
The Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered all documents related to the Assembly elections in Haryana, including CCTV camera footage, to be shared with lawyer Mahmoud Pracha in a case he had filed against the EC.
The rule only affected election papers, and election papers and documents do not specifically refer to electronic documents. To remove this ambiguity, the rule has been amended to prevent misuse of CCTV camera footage from polling stations, an EC official said.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, said the party will challenge the amendment in court.
“If there was ever a justification for our claims about the rapidly eroding integrity of the electoral process administered by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in recent times, this is it,” Ramesh said in a post on X.
The Congress leader said sunlight is the best disinfectant and information would restore confidence in the electoral process – a reasoning that the Punjab and Haryana High Court agreed with when it directed the EC to share all the information it was legally obliged to share with the public.