Delhi Bar Council polls: FIR alleges ballot tampering during counting at Delhi High Court

Police registered an FIR over alleged tampering of ballot papers during counting of the Delhi Bar Council elections at the Delhi High Court premises. The complaint cites irregularities in preferential voting, including altered second-preference markings to benefit a candidate. An election committee inquiry flagged discrepancies and suggested involvement of counting staff.

Delhi Police registered a case after suspected ballot paper tampering surfaced during Bar Council poll counting at the Delhi High Court premises. Police said the issue appeared while votes were being tallied under a preferential voting system. The case links to alleged changes that may have shifted voter choices and helped one candidate.

Police said the questioned ballot papers have been taken into custody for investigation. The case was filed at Tilak Marg police station under sections linked to cheating, forgery, and related offences. Officers said the investigation is continuing and is checking whether more people took part.

Bar Council polls ballot papers: what the FIR alleges

According to the FIR, the irregularities relate to second-preference voting on several ballots. The FIR says the digit 1 was added before the digit 2 on some papers. That change made the marking look like 12 instead of 2. A new 2 was then marked against a particular candidate.

The FIR said these changes altered the original preference marked by voters. It said the edits created a wrongful gain for the beneficiary. The FIR described the act as "manipulation/ forgery\" on ballot papers. Police said the suspected edits appeared on multiple ballots during counting.

Bar Council polls ballot papers: counting and complaint trail

The alleged tampering was noticed during the counting process, which began on March 7. Polling for the Bar Council elections was held in February. The elections were for 23 member posts. The FIR said over 200 candidates contested these seats.

An internal inquiry by the election committee highlighted the mismatches, police said. The inquiry also pointed towards a member of the counting staff. After that, a formal complaint was submitted to police. Based on the complaint, police registered the FIR and began collecting records.

Police said the accused was part of the counting process and has been identified. Officers said the next steps include checking the full set of secured ballots. Police said the probe will examine the counting process and any supporting documents. The outcome will depend on what the investigation establishes about involvement.

With inputs from PTI