HC seeks Centre, ECI response on poll discrepancy petition
Chetan Chandrakant Ahire, the petitioner, contended that omissions from the voters’ list and other discrepancies threatened the security, accuracy, reliability, and verifiability of the election process using electronic voting machines (EVMs)
MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Monday issued notices to the central government and the Election Commission of India (ECI), seeking their responses to a writ petition regarding discrepancies during the conduct of the assembly poll on November 20, 2024, including the unusually high percentage of votes cast in the final minutes.

Chetan Chandrakant Ahire, the petitioner, contended that omissions from the voters’ list and other discrepancies threatened the security, accuracy, reliability, and verifiability of the election process using electronic voting machines (EVMs).
The petition said over 7.5 million votes were cast during the final minutes of polling, for which no explanation was provided. Moreover, when results were declared three days later, on November 23, 2024, discrepancies were noticed in 95 constituencies – while votes counted exceeded votes polled in 19 constituencies, in another 76 constituencies, more votes were polled than counted.
The petition, filed through advocates Sandesh More and Hitendra Gandhi, and was argued by advocate Prakash Ambedkar, who said they had sought information from the ECI which was denied.
The petition drew attention to the returning officer’s failure in adhering to guidelines issued by ECI in the Handbook for Returning Officers (2019).
“In India, concerns about the potential vulnerability of EVMs have been repeatedly raised by multiple political parties across the spectrum, further eroding public confidence in the system. The time has come to completely abandon EVMs and revert to the use of ballot boxes, which offer greater transparency, accountability, and verifiability, thereby restoring public confidence in the democratic system”, the petition stated.
It emphasised the need for judicial scrutiny to ensure that the election commission operates within the bounds of its constitutional mandate and does not exceed its authority.
“Public trust is the cornerstone of democracy, and its erosion demands immediate corrective measures”, he added.
The petition prayed for the provision of a detailed disclosure of the exact number of tokens distributed to voters after the official closing time at each polling station, the cumulative total number of tokens distributed, and the total number of votes cast and polled in each constituency of the state.
It also urged the court to declare the results null and void due to non-compliance of legal provisions, along with an immediate withdrawal of the certificates of election issued by the returning officers of each constituency.
The division bench of justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata issued a notice to the central government, the chief election commission of India and the chief electorate officer, Maharashtra and asked them to file a reply within two weeks.
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