Booth Level Agents liable only for verifiable information in SIR: Delhi HC

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday ruled that booth level agents of political parties are not liable for verifying all details in enumeration forms during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Justice Amit Bansal said booth level agents (BLA) are liable only for verifiable information like the elector's photograph.

"In the opinion of this court, BLA can only be a made liable in terms of section 31 of the Representation of People Act for information that can be verified by the BLA, i.e., the photograph on the enumeration form matches with the identity of the elector," the judge said.

Section 31 states that making false declarations with respect to the preparation, revision or correction of an electoral roll is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

The judge passed the judgement on a petition by the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Devender Yadav and the chairman of the DPCC's booth management committee.

The petitioners challenged the mandate requiring BLAs of political parties to give a personal undertaking certifying they have personally verified all details in the enumeration forms.

According to the petitioner, neither the Representation of the People Act nor the Registration of Electors Rules contain any provision empowering the Election Commission to ask the representatives of political parties to give such an undertaking.

"The requirement of a personal undertaking from BLAs is directly contrary to the statutory scheme of verification prescribed under Section 23 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which mandates that the inclusion of any name in the electoral roll shall be made by the Electoral Registration Officer, and only after 'proper verification of facts in such manner as may be prescribed'," the petition had said.

"The prescribed manner of verification under the Rules is to be conducted by statutory officers, not by private individuals or party representatives. The imposition of an undertaking of personal verification upon BLAs amounts to an unlawful delegation of a statutory function to private actors," it added.