The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday directed the State Election Commission to submit closed circuit television camera (CCTV) footage from the counting centres of the rural local bodies that fall under the jurisdiction of the Madurai Bench.
A Division Bench of Justices P. Velmurugan and R. Tharani passed the order after a section of advocates made a mention before the court, seeking a direction to the SEC to videograph the counting of the votes cast during the polls, scheduled for January 2, 2020.
They wanted the counting of votes to be videographed as they apprehended that irregularities could take place during the process. The advocates cited past incidences of irregularities to stress the need to videograph the process.
During the course of the hearing, the SEC submitted that two CCTV cameras will be installed in each counting room to record the entire process. Taking up the issue suo motu, the court directed the SEC to submit the CCTV footage to the High Court Registry on January 3, 2020.
