CCTV Footage Of 2024 Lok Sabha Polls No Longer In Custody Of District Election Officers In Delhi, Stands Destroyed: ECI To High Court

The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently informed the Delhi High Court that the CCTV footage of Lok Sabha Elections 2024 is not longer in the custody of the seven District Election Officers (DEOs) in the national capital as the same stands destroyed.Justice Mini Pushkarna took the statement on record while hearing an application filed by Advocate Mehmood Pracha last year, seeking preservation of the video footage. The application was filed in his plea seeking the videography or photography data inside the polling stations all over India in relation to the 2024 elections. In his plea, Pracha sought a direction on ECI to direct all the District Election Officers across India to supply the videography and CCTV coverage of election process in their respective constituencies.As per Pracha, the footage should include the First Level Checking, up to the sealing and storage of EVM-VVPAT Machines in the warehouses after conclusion of the counting process. In his application, he prayed that the footage in the custody of all the respective DEOs in Delhi shall not be destroyed during the pendency of the writ petition.He relied on the “Handbook for Returning Officer, 2023”, and said that ECI is enjoined upon to retain, in safe custody of the DEO, all the CCTV or video recordings of the elections. On the other hand, ECI counsel submitted that the ECI issued fresh Instructions on May 30, modifying its earlier instructions published on September 06 last year, to the effect that preservation of the webcasting data and photography is only for a limited period. “…as of today, the data as sought by the petitioner, i.e., the video / CCTV footage pertaining to the Lok Sabha Elections, 2024, is no longer in the custody of the DEOs in Delhi and already stands destroyed,” the Court noted. The judge took on note of the ECI stand, as well as Pracha's submission that he disputed the statement and that he reserves his right to pursue legal recourse.Pracha also said that the fresh Instructions have been issued by ECI solely to defeat his petition filed and to destroy the evidence. The said submission was disputed by ECI counsel. As ECI counsel said that the fresh instructions were not challenged by Pracha in the petition, the Court ordered:“Noting the aforesaid, no orders can be passed by this Court in the present application, for the time being. Accordingly, the present application is disposed of.”The Court listed the main petition for hearing on February 13, 2026.Counsel for Petitioner: Petitioner in person along with Mr. Sanawar, Mr. Jatin Bhatt, Mr. Kshtij Singh, Mr. Sikander, Mr. Kumail Abbas, AdvocatesCounsel for Respondent: Mr. Sandeep Sethi, Sr. Adv. with Mr. Sidhant Kumar, Mr. Vinayak Thakur, AdvocatesTitle: MEHMOOD PRACHA v. ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIACitation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1474Click here to read order

CCTV Footage Of 2024 Lok Sabha Polls No Longer In Custody Of District Election Officers In Delhi, Stands Destroyed: ECI To High Court

Nupur Thapliyal

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