fourth phase of the Lok Sabha election on May 13, the BJP candidate in Hyderabad, Madhavi Latha, was captured on video asking niqab-wearing women voters to remove their face coverings so she could verify their identities. Hyderabad Police registered an FIR against Latha under IPC sections:
  • Undue influence at an election (171C),
  • Obstructing a public servant (186), and
  • Intent to incite (505(1)(C)), and
  • Section 132 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (misconduct at the polling station).
IDENTIFICATION OF THE WOMEN IN BURQA Conducting free and fair elections is the ECI’s mandate, which includes ensuring no bogus votes are cast. Polling officers are required to verify a voter’s appearance against the photo on the voter card, if needed. To ensure this is done while also protecting the privacy of the woman elector in ghoonghat/burqa/niqab, the ECI has issued

standing instructions for Returning Officers of constituencies and Presiding Officers of polling stations:

“If sufficiently large number of ‘pardanashin’ (burqa-clad) women electors are assigned to your Polling Station, you should make special arrangements for their identification and application of indelible ink on the left index finger by a lady Polling Officer in a separate enclosure having due regard to privacy, dignity, and decency.” THE CANDIDATE’S ACTIONS The responsibility and right to verify the identity of voters lies with the ECI, not a contesting candidate. Candidates or their polling agents are allowed access to polling stations in the constituency, to ensure that the polling process is conducted without interference. However, they are not permitted to intervene in the voting process. Madhavi Latha’s action was viewed as interference and, therefore, at the ECI’s behest, she was booked by the police.