📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Subhashish Panigrahi
Politics
Supreme Court Demands ECI Produce Karnataka Vote‑Counting Video, Rejects Excuses
✍️ Bar and Bench
🗓 15 Oct 2026, 07:02 AM
👁 15
The Supreme Court has rebuked the Election Commission of India for claiming it lost the 2023 Karnataka vote‑counting video, demanding the footage be produced without delay.
The Supreme Court today issued a stern rebuke to the Election Commission of India (ECI) after the commission claimed it had lost the video of the 2023 Karnataka vote‑counting process. The court said it would not accept any excuses and demanded that the footage be produced immediately.
The video, which was expected to provide transparency for the state’s recent elections, had not been made available to the public or to the court. The ECI’s assertion that the footage was misplaced raised questions about the commission’s handling of electoral records.
In its order, the Supreme Court directed the ECI to submit the video within 48 hours and warned that failure to comply could lead to further legal action. The court also urged the commission to review its internal procedures for safeguarding critical electoral material.
The ruling underscores the judiciary’s insistence on accountability in electoral processes and may prompt a review of how the ECI manages and archives election-related evidence.
The video, which was expected to provide transparency for the state’s recent elections, had not been made available to the public or to the court. The ECI’s assertion that the footage was misplaced raised questions about the commission’s handling of electoral records.
In its order, the Supreme Court directed the ECI to submit the video within 48 hours and warned that failure to comply could lead to further legal action. The court also urged the commission to review its internal procedures for safeguarding critical electoral material.
The ruling underscores the judiciary’s insistence on accountability in electoral processes and may prompt a review of how the ECI manages and archives election-related evidence.