India News | Have Not Deviated from Guidelines on Sharing Electoral Rolls with Govt Departments: EC
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Election Commission Monday said it has not deviated "in any way" from its 2008 guidelines regarding sharing of electoral rolls and photo I-card data with other government departments.
New Delhi, Aug 24 (PTI) The Election Commission Monday said it has not deviated "in any way" from its 2008 guidelines regarding sharing of electoral rolls and photo I-card data with other government departments.
The Commission said it is issuing the clarification "in view of the anecdotal reports which are not based on empirical facts".
While the EC did not explain the "reports" that prompted its response, it came following some social media posts alleging the poll panel "violated” its own rules to share electoral roll data with the Delhi Police for probe in the violence that erupted earlier this year in the city.
It said the Commission "has not in any way deviated” from the original guidelines of 2008 and the clarificatory orders of 2020 "in any manner."
The EC had in December, 2008, issued guidelines regarding sharing of electoral roll and EPIC (Electoral Photo Identity Card) database with various government departments.
It issued further instructions to the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) on July 16 this year, stating that "the State Election Commissions (SECs) shall also not share the ER (electoral roll) database provided by the CEOs to any other organisation or agency”.
The statement said that it also needs to be mentioned that as far as criminal investigations by regulatory departments or enforcement agencies is concerned, it is under the concerned agencies' own Acts, rules and guidelines, which in any case can be challenged in the courts.
"In fact, the entire super structure of criminal justice system is erected on this. It is only when the Model Code of Conduct is enforced that Election Commission invariably takes note of any such events or incidents, which have the potential of disturbing or disrupting the smooth conduct of electoral process," the statement reads.
The EC does not interfere in the day-to-day functioning of the regulatory departments or enforcement agencies, it said.
However, if any political entity or person brings to the notice of the Commission any particular instance which has the potential of disturbing electoral process, the poll panel has a well-established mechanism of seeking inputs from the CEOs and observers during this time and necessary action is taken as per the reports of these functionaries, it noted.
"There have been many instances during the last Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha (assembly) elections wherein very senior functionaries have been removed/relocated from the senior most positions in the state governments in such eventualities," it said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)