Civil society appeals to President for judicial inquiry into Election Commission’s impartiality

By A Representative 

A group of former bureaucrats, academics, civil society leaders and activists have written to President Droupadi Murmu seeking a judicial inquiry into what they describe as “serious concerns” over the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

In their appeal, for which the group has sought wider support through an online petition, they urged the Rashtrapati to intervene, saying:

“We respectfully appeal to your high office to order a judicial enquiry into whether the Election Commission's functioning has been impartial in maintaining the integrity of Electoral Rolls and the Electoral Processes.”

The signatories pointed to what they allege are large-scale fraudulent inclusions and deletions of voters’ names, duplicate Electronic Photo Identity Cards (EPICs), deficiencies in EVM functioning, fraudulent booth-level voting, and discrepancies between provisional and final polling figures. They cited instances where the number of counted votes showed “an unusual increase” compared to the provisional turnout data.

Recalling that as early as November 2022, the Citizens’ Commission on Elections, headed by a former Supreme Court judge, had warned the ECI of systemic shortcomings, the appeal said the Commission “failed to respond” to those concerns. It accused the poll body of adopting “an attitude of defence and even condescending defiance” rather than opening itself up to independent audits or public accountability.

The letter listed a series of episodes that, according to the signatories, cast doubts on the ECI’s impartiality. These included the forceful stopping of a symbolic “re-election” using paper ballots in Maharashtra’s Markadwadi village; the hasty amendment of Rule 93(2) of the Conduct of Election Rules after the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the ECI to share CCTV footage of polling; and the Commission’s confirmation earlier this year of duplicate voter ID numbers flagged by the West Bengal government.

On the issue of access to electoral rolls, the appeal noted that opposition leaders have repeatedly demanded machine-readable, text-searchable versions of the rolls to detect errors and duplication. The Commission has declined on cybersecurity grounds, citing a 2019 Supreme Court judgment. However, the signatories said investigative journalists have already demonstrated the feasibility of converting non-searchable rolls into searchable ones, undercutting the ECI’s argument.

A controversy in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura constituency was also cited, where the Leader of Opposition alleged large-scale irregularities in the rolls but was served a notice by the state’s Chief Election Officer to substantiate his claims with an affidavit. By contrast, a ruling party MP who made similar allegations in Rae Bareli, Wayanad, Diamond Harbour, Mainpuri, Kannauj, and Kolathur (Tamil Nadu) was not issued any such notice. “There cannot be one law for one complainant and another for another complainant,” the appeal stated.

The signatories also highlighted the absence of totaliser machines with EVMs, which, they argued, makes booth-wise voting patterns transparent and increases the risk of manipulation through targeted deletions or intimidation.

Referring to the Supreme Court’s March 2, 2023 judgment in Anoop Baranwal v Union of India, which recommended a non-executive dominated panel for appointing election commissioners, the appeal said deviations from those guidelines had “raised public concerns about the impartiality of the Commission.”

The letter concluded:

“The effectiveness of the Election Commission as the custodian of free and fair elections depends on the trust it elicits from the public. Any instance that is likely to erode the public trust in its functioning needs to be looked into at the earliest.”

Among those who signed the appeal are Prof. Jagdeep Chhokar, former IIM Ahmedabad professor; Dr. E.A.S. Sarma, former secretary to the Government of India; Thomas Franco, former General Secretary of AIBOC; activist Teesta Setalvad; commentator Parakala Prabhakar; Joe Athialy of the Centre for Financial Accountability; journalist Pamela Philipose; former MP Jawahar Sircar; and economists Dr. Venkatesh Athreya and Prof. Sebastian Morris.