The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an order of the Madras High Court directing the Tamil Nadu 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 its Madurai Bench.
A Bench led by Chief Justice Sharad A. Bobde ordered the stay and issued notice.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the State Election Commission, said that a High Court cannot ask for video footage of an election process.
The Commission is the authority in the fair conduct of elections. The High Court had passed the order in December after a section of advocates made a mention before it to direct the SEC to videograph the counting of the votes in the local body polls held recently as they apprehended that irregularities could take place during the process.
