Electoral Reforms

SC to hear pleas against EC decision to revise electoral rolls on July 10

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on July 10 a batch of petitions challenging the decision of the Election Commission to undertake special intensive revision of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. A partial working day (PWD) bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi took note of the submissions of a battery of senior lawyers led by Kapil Sibal on behalf of several petitioners and agreed to hear the pleas on Thursday. Sibal urged the bench to issue notices to the poll panel on the petitions. "We will have it on Thursday," Justice Dhulia said. Several pleas, including by leaders like Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha and Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, have been filed in the top court challenging an Election Commission's order directing for special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Jha said the EC's June 24 order be quashed for being violative of Articles 14 (fundamental right to equality), 21 (fundamental right to life an

Electoral rolls prep in India one of world's most rigorous exercise: CEC

Preparation of electoral rolls in India is one of the world's most rigorous and transparent exercises, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has said before an international audience amid allegations of fudging in voter data. Electoral rolls are shared with recognised national and state parties in accordance with law every year during revision as well as before the elections, Kumar said in his keynote address at the Stockholm International Conference on Electoral Integrity on Tuesday. The CEC said the rolls have been shared with recognised political parties since 1960 with provision of claims, objections and appeals. The remarks come close on the heels of opposition parties, including Congress, alleging fudging of voter data to rig elections. The poll authority has dubbed these charges as absurd. Addressing the event, Kumar said preparation of voters list is one of the world's most rigorous and transparent exercises, reinforcing the accuracy and integrity of the electoral ...

EC to seek death details digitally for more accurate electoral rolls

In a bid to update voters' list at a faster pace and make it free of errors, the Election Commission will now obtain death registration data electronically from the Registrar General of India. The EC said on Thursday this will ensure that the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) receive timely information about registered deaths and allow booth level officers (BLOs) to reverify the information through field visits, without waiting for a formal request by the kin of the deceased. The poll body has the authority under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 and the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 to seek such details. To make voter information slips (VIS) more voter friendly, the EC has also decided to modify its design. The serial number and part number of the voter will now be displayed more prominently, with increased font size, making it easier for voters to identify their polling station and for polling officials to locate their names in the electoral roll ...

Poonam Agarwal's book 'India Inked' decodes India's electoral practices

Poonam Agarwal offers an excellent account of the supposedly politics-agnostic electoral bonds for anyone wanting to understand how a part of India's election system works - and how it is undermined

Some guidelines of 'One Nation One Election' report 'flawed': Former CEC

With the government setting the ball rolling for simultaneous polls, former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi has flagged concerns over the practicality and implications of the proposed move, saying some key recommendations are "flawed" as he emphasised the need for a debate in Parliament on these issues. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday accepted the recommendations of a high-level committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind for holding simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies in a phased manner after a countrywide consensus-building exercise. The move has sparked a national debate with opposition parties calling it impractical and a "cheap stunt" by the ruling BJP. The report on "One Nation One Election" claimed that more than 80 per cent of the 21,558 responses received supported the proposal. Quraishi termed several key recommendations in the report "flawed". He pointed out that the simultaneous elections would exclude Panchayat elections

SC rejects plea seeking 100% review of VVPAT-EVM verification verdict

The review petition filed by Arun Kumar Agarwal contended that there are mistakes and errors apparent in the April 26 judgment

SBI refuses to disclose details of electoral bonds under RTI Act

The State Bank of India (SBI) has refused to disclose under the RTI Act the details of the electoral bonds furnished to the Election Commission (EC), claiming that it is personal information held in a fiduciary capacity, even though the records are in the public domain on the poll panel's website. Holding that the electoral bonds scheme was "unconstitutional and manifestly arbitrary", the Supreme Court directed the SBI on February 15 to furnish the complete details of the bonds purchased since April 12, 2019 to the EC, which would publish the information on its website by March 13. On March 11, the court dismissed the SBI's petition seeking an extension of the deadline and ordered it to disclose the details of the electoral bonds to the EC by the close of business hours on March 12. RTI activist Commodore (retired) Lokesh Batra approached the SBI on March 13 seeking the complete data of the electoral bonds in the digital form, as provided to the EC after the Supreme Court's order.

SC to hear next week plea for cross-verification of votes with VVPAT

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would hear next week a plea by an NGO seeking cross-verification of the votes cast in EVMs with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). A bench headed by Justices Sanjiv Khanna said the plea will be listed next Tuesday or Wednesday after advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, said the matter should be heard urgently. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, also appearing in the matter, submitted that the elections are nearing and if the case is not heard, the plea would become infructuous. Justice Khanna, who was sitting in a special bench along with Justice MM Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi, said the court is aware of the situation and would hear the matter next week. "Mr. Bhushan, after all, how much time this matter will take. You can make submissions in two-hours and we will finish the matter. Ok. Next week," Justice Khanna said. On July 17, last year, the top court has sought the response of the Election Commission of India o

Congress hits out at PM Modi over his remarks on electoral bonds issue

The Congress on Monday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks on the electoral bonds issue, claiming that while the corruption of his government had been known for a while, the setback is that there are now "hard numbers to prove it". Prime Minister Modi on Sunday rejected the suggestion that the electoral bond issue caused a setback to his government, saying no system is perfect and any shortcoming could be improved upon. In an interview with Thanthi TV, he also said those who are "dancing" over the matter will repent it. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh attacked Modi over his remarks and charged, "Every single day the prime minister scales new heights of hypocrisy and plumbs new depths of dishonesty". "The prime minister has fully lied to the nation in his latest interview to a Tamil television channel. He claims that 'where funds have come from, how they are being used' is only known due to the Electoral Bond Scheme instituted by him," Ramesh said and p

Poll officers can't force electors who refuse' to vote at poll booths: EC

At a time when the Election Commission pledges to leave no stone unturned to bring eligible voters to polling stations to exercise their franchise, not many electors are aware of their right to refuse to vote even after registering their identities before the presiding officer. That right, which is separate from the provision to vote under NOTA, can be exercised under the 'Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 Rule 49-O', which elaborates the little-known option for electors to abstain from voting even after reaching the polling booth. While the NOTA (None Of The Above) option allows voters to express their lack of confidence in any of the candidates seeking mandate, the refusal to vote' option allows an elector to shun the poll process in its entirety. The 49-O clause directs the presiding officer that once an elector refuses to vote inside a booth after having his credentials verified, the officer shall put a remark to this effect against the entry in Form 17A and the signature or thum

LS polls: Kerala enrols over 300,000 young voters to electoral roll

As many as 3,11,805 new voters have registered since the release of the draft Electoral Roll on October 23, 2023

Electoral bonds data: Cong flags discrepancy in entries, recipient files

Soon after the Election Commission released electoral bonds data, the Congress on Thursday said there was a discrepancy in the numbers of entries in donor and recipient files -- 18,871 against 20,421. It also asked why the data shared pertained to a period from April 2019 even though the scheme for anonymous political funding was introduced in 2017. Amitabh Dubey, in charge of research and monitoring in the Congress' communication department, said the electoral bond scheme began in 2017, but the data presented began in April 2019. "The donors file has 18,871 entries, the recipients file has 20,421 entries. Why the discrepancy @TheOfficialSBI?" he said on X. Tagging Dubey's post, Congress MP and AICC in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Manickam Tagore said, "Ah, yes, the electoral bond scheme, where transparency meets selective amnesia. Donors file: 18,871 entries. Recipients file: 20,421 entries. Coincidence? I think not." "@TheOfficialSBI, you've truly mastered the art of hiding in plain

SC strikes down electoral bond scheme as 'unconstitutional', against rights

Orders EC to disclose donors, amount & recipients by March 13

SC verdict on electoral bond: Everything you need to know about it

In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday annulled the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, saying it violates the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information. But what exactly are electoral bonds? An electoral Bond is a financial instrument for making donations to political parties as has been first pronounced by the Finance Minister in the Union Budget 2017-18. According to the Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018, an electoral bond is a bond issued in the nature of a promissory note, which shall be bearer in character. A bearer instrument is one which does not carry the name of the buyer or payee, no ownership information is recorded and the holder of the instrument (i.e. political party) is presumed to be its owner, explains Association for Democratic Reforms. The scheme allows individuals -- who are citizens of India -- and domestic companies to donate these bonds issued in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 la

Electoral bonds: CPI(M) hails SC verdict, calls for reforms in funding

Welcoming the Supreme Court judgment striking down electoral bonds, the CPI(M) on Thursday said it was an "unscrupulous scheme designed to help the ruling party" and it was now essential to introduce reforms for political and electoral funding. In a widely anticipated judgement ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Supreme Court annulled the electoral bonds scheme for political funding, saying it violates the Constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information. "The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) hails the historic judgment of the Supreme Court, which has struck down the electoral bonds scheme as unconstitutional. By this verdict, this unscrupulous scheme designed to finance the ruling party by anonymous corporate donors has been completely scrapped," the CPI(M) said in a statement. The party had declared at the outset itself that it will not accept electoral bonds as this scheme legalizes corruption, the statement read, adding that the CPI(M) ha

Significant for transparency: AAP lauds SC's electoral bonds scheme ruling

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision on electoral bonds, saying it is an important step in ensuring transparency in election funding. In a landmark judgement that delivered a big blow to the government, the Supreme Court on Thursday annulled the electoral bonds scheme, saying it violates the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression as well as the right to information. The apex court ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to disclose to the Election Commission the names of the contributors to the six-year-old scheme. "We welcome this decision. This is an important step in the transparency of election funding. Otherwise through electoral bonds, it was not known which person was giving funds to which party. It is important for country's democracy that it is known which person is giving how much money to which political party," Delhi Cabinet minister Atishi told reporters outside the Assembly. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chi

SC's electoral bond ruling will reinforce power of votes over notes: Cong

The Congress on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict striking down the electoral bond scheme, and said it will reinforce the power of votes over notes. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, The Supreme Court has held the much-touted Electoral Bonds scheme of the Modi Sarkar as violative of both laws passed by Parliament as well as the Constitution of India. The long-awaited verdict is hugely welcome and will reinforce the power of votes over notes, he said. The Modi Sarkar has been inflicting ANYAY upon ANYAY on the Annadatas while privileging the Chandadatas, Ramesh said. We also hope that the Supreme Court will take note that Election Commission has been consistently refusing to even meet political parties on the issue of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). If everything is transparent in the voting process then why this obstinacy? he said. The Supreme Court struck down the electoral bond scheme, saying it violates the right to information

Not allowing for 100% VVPATs is 'terrible anyay' on Indian voter: Congress

Calling for greater accountability in using technology in conduct of polls, the Congress Wednesday questioned the Election Commission's "reluctance" to engage with INDIA parties over their demand that the number of VVPATs prescribed be steadily increased towards 100 per cent. The opposition party also said that not allowing for 100 per cent VVPATs is a "terrible injustice" on the Indian voter. In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties have been requesting for an appointment to meet the Election Commission since June 2023 on the issue of the greater use of VVPATs (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) in the election process. "Not allowing for 100% VVPATs is a terrible ANYAY on the Indian voter," he said. On April 8, 2019, the Supreme Court had requested the EC to increase the number of election booths that undergo VVPAT slip matching, he noted. "The case is N. Chandrababu Naidu vs Union of India

Independent institutions being vitiated under electoral autocracy: Tharoor

While responding to a question on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Tharoor said that the public must not vote solely based on the construction of a temple but should focus on other development factor

PM asks youth to reduce dynastic influence, take part in electoral process

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday described India's present-day youth as the most fortunate generation of the 21st century, poised to take the country to greater heights during Amrit Kaal, and urged them to participate in the electoral process to "reduce" the influence of dynastic politics. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the 27th National Youth Festival here, Modi said dynastic politics has caused immense harm to the country and urged the youth to get themselves enrolled as voters as soon as possible. India is the mother of democracy. If youth express their political views by casting their votes, the future of the country will be good," he said. First-time voters can bring new energy and power to India's democracy, he said. Invoking Sri Aurobindo and Swami Vivekananda, he said the youth have the calibre to create history in Amrit Kaal because of their commitment and intellect. The National Youth Festival is organised every year from January 12 to 16. Swami ...