The Delhi High Court on Saturday declined to order a fresh poll in the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) elections, holding that the entire election process could not be set aside merely because certain allegedly manipulated ballot papers were detected during counting.
The Bench of Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Tejas Karia held that while petitions alleging irregularities in the election process were maintainable, the appropriate course was to segregate and examine suspicious ballots rather than direct repolling.
The Court ordered that ballot papers bearing erasures, overwriting, corrections, additions or other suspicious markings be kept separately as “doubtful ballots”. These ballots, including 27 allegedly manipulated ballot papers identified during counting, will be examined by the Additional Solicitor General, who will decide how they are to be counted and record brief reasons for each decision.
Observing that the alleged irregularities did not affect the counting of first-preference votes, the Bench held that no recount of such ballots was required and permitted the counting process to resume from the stage at which it had been halted.
To ensure transparency, the Court directed enhanced safeguards for the remainder of the counting process, including secure storage of ballots, continuous CCTV surveillance, live-streaming, high-resolution camera coverage and stricter verification of personnel involved in counting.
The Court further preserved the right of aggrieved parties to challenge the election results through appropriate election petitions after declaration of the outcome.
The case arose from a batch of petitions alleging irregularities in the conduct of the BCD elections. The counting process had earlier been stayed by the Supreme Court after concerns were raised regarding allegedly tampered ballot papers being counted. The apex court subsequently transferred the matter to a special bench of the Delhi High Court for adjudication.
Also read- https://thebarbulletin.com/supreme-court-delhi-hc-bcd-vote-counting/