Delhi: Ballot tampering alleged in Bar Council polls, case filed

A case was registered in connection with the alleged tampering of ballot papers during the ongoing counting of the Bar Council polls held at the Delhi High Court premises, police said on Thursday.

According to the FIR, the irregularities pertain to the preferential voting system used in the elections, where second-preference votes on multiple ballots were allegedly manipulated to favour a particular candidate.

“In several instances, the digit “1” was inserted before the digit “2” on ballot papers to make it appear as “12”, and a fresh marking of “2” was then made against a specific candidate, thereby altering the voter’s original preference and resulting in wrongful gain to the beneficiary, in whose favour manipulation/ forgery has been done on ballot papers,” the FIR read.

The alleged tampering came to light during the counting process, which began on March 7, following polling in February for 23 member posts. Over 200 candidates had contested the elections, the FIR stated.

An internal inquiry conducted by the election committee flagged the discrepancies and pointed to the involvement of a member of the counting staff. Subsequently, a formal complaint was lodged with the police.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered at Tilak Marg police station under sections related to cheating, forgery and related offences.

Police said the accused, who was part of the counting process, has been identified and an investigation is underway to ascertain if others were involved in the alleged manipulation of ballot papers.

They added that the ballot papers in question have been secured and will form part of the investigation.