Delhi HC limits liability of political parties’ booth agents during electoral roll revision

The Delhi High Court on Thursday ruled that booth level agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties cannot be held liable for false information in enumeration forms that they have no means to independently verify during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Justice Amit Bansal held that a BLA’s liability under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act can extend only to information that the agent is actually capable of verifying, such as whether the photograph on an enumeration form matches the identity of the elector. “In the opinion of this court, BLA can only be made liable in terms of Section 31 of the Representation of People Act for information that can be verified by the BLA, i.e., the photograph on the enumeration form matches with the identity of the elector,” the court said. Section 31 provides for imprisonment of up to one year, a fine, or both, for making false declarations relating to the preparation, revision or correction of electoral rolls.

Congress challenges undertaking

The ruling came on a petition filed by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Devender Yadav and the chairman of the party’s booth management committee, challenging the requirement that BLAs give a personal undertaking certifying that they had verified all particulars contained in enumeration forms.

The petitioners argued that much of the information sought in such forms was exclusively within the elector’s knowledge. Since a BLA merely assists voters during the revision exercise, requiring the agent to personally authenticate every detail could expose party representatives to criminal liability for information they could not independently verify.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) defended the framework, saying registered political parties were permitted to appoint BLAs during the SIR process to ensure greater transparency and address concerns that booth level officers (BLOs) might deliberately exclude supporters of particular parties.

It said the requirement for BLAs to furnish undertakings while submitting applications and forms on behalf of electors formed part of its standing instructions and the Manual of Electoral Rolls, 2023.

Verification rests with BLOs

The High Court, however, observed that under the SIR framework, responsibility for verification and the related undertaking rests with BLOs. It found no justification for requiring BLAs to personally certify the correctness of particulars that they cannot verify.

“The BLA cannot be made liable for all the information, which is contained in the Enumeration Form as there is no way a BLA could be in a position to verify the same. The said information would be exclusively within the knowledge of the concerned elector,” the court said.

The court clarified, however, that BLAs would bear full responsibility for forms concerning dead or shifted voters when those forms are filled by the agents themselves on the basis of information collected by them.

The petitioners had contended that neither the Representation of the People Act nor the Registration of Electors Rules empowered the ECI to impose such a personal undertaking on representatives of political parties. They argued that verification was a statutory function entrusted to election authorities and could not effectively be delegated to private individuals.

The court also noted that copies of the 2002 electoral roll and the final 2025 electoral roll were available on the ECI website. It said the petitioners could seek physical copies of electoral rolls up to May 2026, on which the SIR is being conducted, and the same should be supplied upon payment of the prescribed fees.