Fast and Opaque – India Legal
By Vikram Kilpady
Probably the most frequent grievance about authorities functioning is that it’s too sluggish—particularly when in comparison with the non-public sector. However India’s Election Fee appears decided to show in any other case. In a span of six months, it has overhauled key electoral procedures with gorgeous pace—first in December 2024, after which once more in Might 2025.
The newest flashpoint: a quiet directive issued on Might 30 to all state chief electoral officers. In it, the Election Fee of India (ECI) drastically curtailed the interval for retaining video and picture proof associated to elections—together with footage from polling cubicles, marketing campaign occasions, and digital voting machine (EVM) storage and motion. From a previous span of as much as a yr, such materials will now be saved for simply 45 days after the declaration of election outcomes.
The rationale? The ECI claims this footage was more and more being misused on social media by people not concerned within the election, selectively edited and weaponized to unfold “misinformation and malicious narratives”. The Fee asserted that such utilization had no authorized consequence and therefore necessitated a coverage change. Nevertheless, it clarified that footage for any constituency dealing with an election petition could be retained till the case concludes.
This isn’t the primary time the ballot physique has tweaked the principles. In December 2024, the ECI amended Rule 93(2)(a) of the Conduct of Election Guidelines, 1961—conveniently after the Punjab and Haryana Excessive Court docket directed the discharge of video information for the Haryana meeting polls held in October that yr. The modification added an important phrase: “as laid out in these guidelines”, effectively eradicating video footage from the class of election papers open to public inspection.
Critics argue this was a deliberate transfer to disclaim entry to video proof, significantly by Opposition events questioning ballot outcomes.
MAHARASHTRA, THE TIPPING POINT?
Nowhere has the ECI come underneath extra hearth than in Maharashtra, the place Congress and its allies have alleged foul play after a surprising meeting election lead to late 2024. The Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which had gained 25 out of 48 seats within the state in the course of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, was diminished to a dismal 50 seats within the 288-member meeting, whereas the BJP-led NDA swept 235 seats.
What raised eyebrows was not simply the disparity in outcomes, however anomalies within the ECI’s information reporting. For the primary time, the ballot physique started releasing provisional turnout figures on polling day, adopted by closing turnout numbers two days later, which had been typically five-six % increased. This unexplained surge, significantly after 5 pm on polling day, led to Opposition claims of manipulation—a priority that made its approach to court docket.
RAHUL GANDHI’S CHARGE: MATCHFIXING
In a sharply worded op-ed revealed on June 7 titled, “Matchfixing Maharashtra”, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi accused
the ECI of facilitating electoral fraud. He levelled three key prices:
1. Pretend voters: Voter rolls in Maharashtra swelled from 9.29 crore in Might 2024 to 9.7 crore by October, surpassing the estimated grownup inhabitants of 9.54 crore.
2. Turnout manipulation: The delayed closing turnout figures had been cited as proof of potential vote inflation.
3. Proof concealment: The brand new 45-day retention coverage was described as a calculated transfer to destroy potential proof of malfeasance.
“The Election Fee ought to be answering questions, not destroying proof,” Gandhi wrote, pointing to the refusal to share voter lists or video footage as a sample of deliberate obfuscation.
BIHAR: A TEST CASE FOR INSTITUTIONAL REDEMPTION?
As Bihar prepares for its meeting elections, all eyes are on the ECI. The ballot physique has introduced that dwell webcasting will now cowl all polling stations within the state—up from 50 % in earlier polls. However questions stay about whether or not this footage will likely be accessible and for a way lengthy.
With Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) faltering and the RJD-Congress alliance sensing a possibility, the Bihar election might be a flashpoint. However greater than political rivalry, what’s at stake is the credibility of the ECI itself—as soon as an admired guardian of Indian democracy, now accused of selective transparency and institutional capitulation.
