Yadav and Garg challenged Clause 9(d)(iv) of the ECI’s guidelines dated June 24, 2025, to the extent it requires BLAs to submit an undertaking stating that they have personally verified the particulars in application forms and are satisfied about their correctness.
They also challenged a subsequent communication dated April 27, 2026, issued by the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi reiterating the requirement.
They contended that verification of electoral particulars is a statutory function entrusted to Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Assistant Electoral Registration Officers and Electoral Registration Officers, and cannot be shifted to political party representatives through an administrative instruction.
Further, they argued that the requirement lacks statutory backing under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and amounts to an unlawful delegation of a statutory function to private individuals.
On the electoral rolls, the petitioners contended that access to the 2002 roll and Frozen Photo Electoral Roll is necessary for BLAs to identify discrepancies, duplicate or shifted electors and other irregularities during the SIR process.
They argued that merely hosting the 2002 rolls on the CEO Delhi website does not provide effective access, given practical difficulties involving downloading, network congestion and internet connectivity.