SC Issues Notice to ECI, Centre on PIL Seeking Biometric, Iris Verification for Voters

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI), the Centre and states on a PIL seeking direction to implement a finger and Iris biometric identification system at polling stations in the elections to prevent electoral malpractices such as duplicate voting, impersonation, and ghost voting.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi sought the response of the ECI and the government to the plea.

It also noted that the exercise will require a change in rules and will also involve a significant financial burden to the exchequer.

It said the prayers in the petition cannot be considered for the upcoming elections, but whether such a recourse deserves to be followed for the next parliamentary elections or state polls needs to be examined.

The petition has been filed by advocate and social activist Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, invoking Article 32 of the Constitution, raising concerns over the continued instances of bribery, undue influence, personation, duplicate voting, and ghost voting despite existing safeguards.

The petition filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay has asked the apex court to direct the ECI to introduce fingerprint and iris-based biometric authentication at polling booths, particularly in impending Assembly elections, to ensure that only genuine voters cast their votes and that the principle of "one citizen, one vote" is strictly enforced.

The current voter identification methods largely based on voter ID cards and manual verification, are prone to misuse due to outdated photographs, clerical errors, and a lack of real-time validation, according to the petition.

It added that biometric authentication, being unique and non-duplicable, would effectively eliminate impersonation and multiple voting.

The plea pointed out that biometric verification can help address issues related to migrant voters, duplicate electoral entries, and "ghost voters", while creating a real-time audit trail to enhance transparency and accountability in the electoral process.

(With inputs from ANI)