EC decision: Polling booth footage can be deleted after 45 days

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission has stated that it is sufficient to retain video and photographs from polling booths for only 45 days, as this is the time limit for filing complaints. Keeping them beyond this period could infringe upon voters’ privacy. The Commission emphasized that it has a responsibility to safeguard both privacy and the secrecy of voting.

If a particular political party receives fewer votes in a specific booth, it becomes possible to identify—using CCTV footage—who voted and who didn’t. This could potentially be used to harass or threaten voters. Beyond 45 days after the announcement of results, elections cannot be legally challenged.

The Commission recently amended a September 2024 order, which previously required that video footage of the election process be preserved for a period ranging from three months to one year. Now, such footage will only be retained beyond 45 days if an election petition is filed, in which case it will be preserved until the case is concluded.

Procedures such as electronic voting machine testing, polling, and counting day activities are typically recorded. The polling process is monitored in real-time via webcasting. Although election-related documents are subject to public scrutiny, electronic visuals are excluded.

"The very institution responsible for providing answers is now destroying evidence. While the Commission rejected the demand for a machine-readable voter list, it has amended the law to enable the destruction of CCTV footage. This is nothing short of match-fixing," says Rahul Gandhi.