The Bombay High Court on Monday issued a notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra after briefly hearing Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader and advocate Prakash Ambedkar. Petitioner Ambedkar sought to declare the entire election process void and illegal in the event of failure by the state and the ECI to disclose the number of tokens distributed to each voter at each polling station and the cumulative total of tokens distributed across all Assembly Constituency segments, amidst heavy polling that took place post 6 PM during the Maharashtra Assembly election on November 20, 2024.
The bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata was hearing a petition filed by Chetan Ahire, a resident of Vikhroli, Mumbai. The plea challenges the Assembly election conducted by the ECI in Maharashtra in November 2024 on the grounds that approximately more than 75,00,000 votes were cast during the closing minutes and post-closing hours of polling, but no transparent system of recording or verifying the authenticity of these votes was provided, the plea claimed.
The petition alleged that the election raised grave concerns regarding the disproportionately high percentage of votes cast during the final minutes and even after the official closing time of polling.
The plea further claimed that, “There is a non-disclosure of pre-numbered tokens distributed to voters present after the official closing time, coupled with the Election Commission’s failure to release detailed data regarding these anomalies on its official website.” Additionally, the ECI’s written commitment that they do not possess the relevant data raises significant doubts about the security, accuracy, reliability, and verifiability of the election process conducted using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the petition stated.
The petition also alleged that out of 288 constituencies, in around 19 constituencies, the votes counted in EVMs exceeded the recorded number of polled votes, while in 76 constituencies, the votes counted in EVMs were found to be less than the polled votes.
The plea seeks detailed disclosure regarding the exact number of tokens distributed to voters after the official closing time (i.e., after 6:00 PM) at each polling station, along with the cumulative total of tokens distributed across all Assembly Constituency segments in the state.
Additionally, the petition seeks disclosure of:
- The total number of votes cast and polled in each constituency of Maharashtra between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM on November 20, 2024.
- The total number of votes cast and polled in each constituency after 6:00 PM until the final closing time of polling.
Ambedkar, representing Ahire, submitted that an RTI request was filed seeking such information, but the Election Commission stated that no such data was available. The petition argues that the failure of election authorities to disclose this data constitutes gross non-compliance with the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, thereby undermining the sanctity of the electoral process.
The plea also seeks a comprehensive and independent audit of the EVMs and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) used in the election.
The bench will hear the matter again after two weeks.