E-Paper
SC agrees to examine feasibility of biometric, facial recognition for voters
The bench noted that rolling out biometric and facial authentication at polling booths would not be a simple administrative exercise.
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to examine the feasibility of introducing biometric and facial recognition of voters before casting votes as a means to enhance the purity of the electoral process and prevent fraud, while issuing notice to the Centre and the Election Commission of India (ECI) on a public interest litigation (PIL).
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justice Joymalya Bagchi said that the proposal by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay raises important questions that merit consideration, even as it underlined that such a system cannot be implemented immediately and would require changes in the legal framework.
“The prayers cannot be considered for the upcoming elections. But whether such a recourse deserves to be followed for next parliamentary elections or State polls needs to be examined. Issue notice,” the court order stated.
The bench noted that rolling out biometric and facial authentication at polling booths would not be a simple administrative exercise, pointing out that it would require amendments to existing rules and entail a significant financial burden.
During the hearing, the court initially appeared reluctant to entertain the plea at this stage, suggesting that Upadhyay first approach the Election Commission.
“ECI needs to give us a reply…if a state does not help or finance ministry does not pass budget then again we can be approached. But issuing notice at this stage is not needed,” the bench observed.
However, it eventually agreed to examine the issue more closely as Upadhyay stressed that he was not pressing the plea for the ongoing and upcoming assembly polls but that the issues could be considered for future polls. Appearing in person, Upadhyay submitted that effective implementation of such a system would require cooperation from state governments.
Upadhyay’s PIL raises concerns over persistent electoral malpractices such as bribery, undue influence, impersonation, duplicate voting and the presence of “ghost voters”. The plea urges the court to direct the Election Commission to introduce fingerprint and iris-based biometric authentication at polling booths to ensure that only genuine voters cast their ballots and to enforce the principle of “one citizen, one vote”.
According to the petition, current voter identification mechanisms, primarily reliant on voter ID cards and manual verification, remain vulnerable to misuse due to outdated photographs, clerical errors and the absence of real-time validation.
It argues that biometric authentication, being unique and non-duplicable, could effectively eliminate impersonation and multiple voting, while also addressing issues relating to migrant voters and duplicate electoral entries.
The plea further highlights that such a system could create a real-time audit trail, thereby improving transparency and accountability in elections.
Invoking the constitutional mandate of free and fair elections, the petition states that the ECI has wide powers under Article 324 to introduce technological reforms and strengthen voter verification processes.
It also contends that integrating biometric verification would align electoral practices with Aadhaar-based identification systems and other digital frameworks already in use across governance sectors.
