Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has issued notices to the Chief Election Commissioner of India and the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra on a plea seeking to declare the state assembly elections null and void. The petition, filed by Chetan Ahire, a voter from the North East Lok Sabha constituency and Vikhroli Assembly constituency, raises concerns over voting irregularities.
Ahire’s plea, represented by advocate Prakash Ambedkar, alleges that nearly 75 lakh votes were cast after 6pm on polling day, a fact acknowledged by the Election Commission itself. The petitioner claims that this unusually high percentage of late voting, coupled with a lack of transparency in the process, casts doubt on the reliability of the election conducted through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
The petition states that the legislative assembly elections were held on November 20, 2024, and results were declared on November 23, 2024. However, the data recorded in Form 17C (polling station-wise vote count) did not match the votes counted in EVMs as recorded in Form 20.
Allegedly, in 95 constituencies, discrepancies were found between the number of votes polled and votes counted, with 19 constituencies showing higher counted votes than polled votes, and 76 constituencies showing fewer counted votes than polled votes.
It alleged that the Returning Officers (ROs) failed to adhere to the norms mentioned in the 'Handbook' issued by the ECI for conducting polls, which mandate the ROs to report such discrepancies to the ECI and suspend the right to declare the elections results, till the ECI gives any directions in this regard.
Another contention raised in the plea is the Election Commission’s failure to disclose the exact number of pre-numbered tokens distributed to voters present after the official closing time. The petitioner argues that this non-disclosure raises serious concerns about the accuracy and security of the voting process.
The petitioner has urged the court to direct the Election Commission to disclose the exact number of tokens distributed and provide a detailed breakdown of votes cast between 5 PM and 6 PM. The plea also seeks to declare the election process null and void if the Election Commission fails to ensure transparency and accuracy in these records.
