CHENNAI: P Wilson, DMK senior counsel, has urged the Madras High Court to issue a directive to the Election Commission to use a software to detect duplicate names in voters list and delete them.
When the PIL from the DMK, filed by its organising secretary RS Bharathi, came up before the first Bench of Chief Justice SK Kaul and Justice MM Sundresh on Wednesday, Wilson submitted to the Bench the software in a pen drive. He also produced different electoral rolls showing the names of the same voter in more than one constituency. “We do believe that if the process (software) achieves that result, the EC may examine and use it,” the Bench said.
The PIL aired fears that the final list of voters drawn up now had duplicate voters who registered their names in different constituencies. It also wanted Central government officials to be appointed electoral registration and booth level officers in all the constituencies to purify the voters list.
Representing the ECI, the additional solicitor general G Rajagopalan submitted that wherever deficiencies were found in the verification process, show cause notices had been issued. Meetings were organised between booth level officers and agents, but this had not been possible in all districts because of the government staff strike. The process of addition and deletion was continuous, which would go on till the last date for withdrawal of seat aspirants’ names.
Accepting the submissions of both the counsel and closing the PIL, the Bench asserted that though the court’s jurisdiction over the EC existed, it was not the court’s job to interfere with its working, as EC was an independent reputed body to carry out the electoral process fairly. “We have no doubt that everything will be done by the EC to uphold its own reputation and see to it that a fair and transparent election is held in Tamil Nadu,” the Bench said.