The Supreme Court of India on Monday issued notice on a PIL filed by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking implementation of finger and iris biometric identification at polling stations to curb electoral malpractices such as proxy voting, bribery and impersonation.

A Bench comprising Surya Kant and  Joymalya Bagchi observed that the proposal would require significant changes in existing electoral rules and entail substantial financial implications. The Court, however, noted that the Election Commission of India has the necessary powers to consider measures aimed at ensuring free and fair elections.

The petitioner argued that biometric authentication would prevent electoral fraud and emphasised that the Election Commission possesses plenary powers under Article 324, though cooperation from States would be required.

Clarifying its position, the Court observed that the nature of reliefs sought could not be considered for the ensuing Assembly elections. However, it noted that whether such a mechanism should be adopted for future parliamentary or state elections requires examination.

Accordingly, the Court issued notice, seeking responses on the broader question of introducing biometric voter verification in the electoral process.