Recount of votes must not compromise ballot secrecy, says SC

A view of the Supreme Court of India in New Delhi. File
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

Secrecy of ballot cannot be tinkered with by ordering recount of votes polled as a “matter of course”, the Supreme Court has confirmed in a judgment.

“Each vote has its own value irrespective of its effect on the final outcome of the election. Its sanctity has to be protected,” a Bench headed by Sanjay Karol observed in a recent judgment.

The top court was hearing an appeal concerning the election to the position of ‘gram pradhan’ for Chaka village in Uttar Pradesh in 2021. The appellant argued that there was an inconsistency in the number of votes cast. The Presiding Officer had stated that a total of 1,194 votes were cast on polling day, but the final tally showed 1,213 votes. The Allahabad High Court had earlier dismissed his case.

The Supreme Court noted that the winner had won the election by 37 votes, and a dispute over 19 votes would not impact the poll results.

However, Justice Karol said the court’s concern “lies away from who is in power and instead is in how one got to power”.

The village panchayat election in 2021 was a four-cornered affair. Three of the candidates had raised doubts about the propriety of the election and sought, in affidavit, a recount of the votes. Besides, the police were used to remove the appellant from the vicinity of the polling area. Moreover, the records of the Presiding Officer had mysteriously disappeared.

Ordering a recount, the Supreme Court, referring to judicial precedents, reiterated that such an order must be given only if two conditions were fulfilled. One, if the petition for setting aside an election has material supporting facts. Two, if the court concerned is prima facie satisfied that a recount was necessary to do complete justice.

Cryptic applications claiming recount cannot be a trigger for taking this exceptional step at the risk of compromising the secrecy of the ballot.

“Secrecy of ballot has always been considered sacrosanct in a democratic process of election and it cannot be disturbed lightly by bare allegations of illegality or irregularity in counting,” the Bench quoted from an earlier judgment.