Prima Facie, ECI Responsible For Putting Candidates' Asset Verification Reports In Public Domain: Allahabad High Court

A Bench of Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla observed thus while hearing a PIL filed by Lok Prahari through its General Secretary, SN Shukla (IAS Retd.), concerning the implementation of the Supreme Court's February 2018 judgment in Lok Prahari vs Union of India.

In this case, the Apex Court mandated that poll candidates disclose their assets in Form 26 and that such verification reports be put out in the public domain.

In its order passed on Monday, the Court noted that a correspondence had taken place between the ECI and CBDT following the 2018 judgment. The petitioner argued that the ECI was duty-bound to place these reports in the public domain but had not done so.

Senior Advocate OP Srivastava, appearing for the ECI, submitted that the Income Tax Department should have made the reports public. However, counsel for the Department denied any such obligation.

In view of this, the Bench noted thus:

"Prima facie, from the documents on record it appears that if at all this was to be done, it was to be done by the Election Commission of India…Prima facie, the Election Commission of India appears to be the statutory body which should put the verification report as received from the CBDT in the public domain".

The Court also observed that although the Supreme Court's judgment was passed in 2018, it had not been implemented even in 2025.

However, since the ECI took the stand that the mechanism for publication was to be developed by the Government of India, the Bench, terming the issue to be important, directed that the Union of India, through the Ministry of Home Affairs, be impleaded as a party in the PIL plea.

Accordingly, the Court directed impleadment of Union of India, Ministry of Home Affairs through its Secretary as an opposite party in the proceedings.

Thus, listing the case on September 15, the bench directed Deputy Solicitor General of India, SB Pandey to seek instructions and file an affidavit in response to the writ petition and also in view of what has been noticed herein above, keeping in mind the decision of the the Supreme Court.

The Court also directed that a responsible officer from the Election Commission of India, as also, from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India to join these proceedings through Video Conferencing.