New Delhi, April 17, 2025 — The Supreme Court on Thursday gave the Election Commission of India three more weeks to respond to a Public Interest Litigation filed by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh. The PIL challenges changes to Rule 93 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, which allegedly restrict public access to key electoral records.
A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna had earlier asked the Centre and the Election Commission to file their responses by January 15. However, senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the Election Commission, sought more time to submit a detailed reply. The court has now posted the matter for hearing in July.
The controversy stems from amendments made to Rule 93(2)(a), which earlier allowed public inspection of “all papers” related to elections. The revised rule narrows access, limiting inspection to only those “papers as specified in these rules.” Ramesh argues that this change curbs transparency by denying citizens access to electronic records such as CCTV footage, video recordings of polling stations, and webcasting data.
He said the amendment threatens the core of electoral transparency and violates the public’s right to information. Referring to an earlier Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling, he noted that the court had directed the Election Commission to provide such footage to an advocate seeking transparency in the Haryana Assembly elections.
The Supreme Court’s final decision in July could determine the future of transparency measures in India’s electoral system and clarify how far public access to digital poll records should go.
SC Extends Time for Election Commission to Reply in Jairam Ramesh’s PIL on Rule Amendments
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