Delhi, Sept 4:
The Delhi High Court has ruled that booth-level agents (BLAs) of political parties can be held responsible only for electoral information that they are capable of personally verifying, providing relief to agents facing the Election Commission’s requirement to certify details in enumeration forms during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
The court said BLAs could not reasonably be expected to verify every detail furnished by electors, particularly information that was beyond their personal knowledge or ability to independently establish.
The ruling came after petitions were filed challenging the Election Commission’s direction requiring BLAs to furnish undertakings stating that they had verified all particulars contained in the enumeration forms.
The court held that the responsibility of BLAs is limited to information that can actually be verified by them. This includes matters such as checking whether the photograph corresponds to the identity of the elector.
The ruling is significant amid the ongoing SIR exercise, with political parties raising concerns over the extent of responsibility being placed on their booth-level representatives.
The court’s observations seek to distinguish between information that can be personally verified by a BLA and information that requires documentary or official verification.