Booth level agents are only responsible for verifiable information in SIR: Delhi High Court

The petitioners challenged the mandate that the BLAs of the political parties personally undertook to personally verify all the data in the enumeration forms. | Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

The Delhi High Court on Thursday (September 3, 2026) ruled that booth-level agents of political parties are not responsible for verifying all the details in the enumeration forms during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Justice Amit Bansal said booth level agents (BLAs) are only responsible for verifiable information such as a photograph of a voter.

“In this court’s opinion, the BLA can be held liable under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act only for information verifiable by the BLA, i.e. the photographs on the census form match the identity of the voter,” the judge said.

Section 31 states that false statements about the preparation, revision or correction of the voter list are punishable by imprisonment for up to one year or a fine, or both.

The judge passed the judgment on a petition filed by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Devender Yadav and chairman of the DPCC booth management committee.

The petitioners challenged the mandate that the BLAs of the political parties personally undertook to personally verify all the data in the enumeration forms.

According to the petitioner, neither the Act on the Representation of the People nor the voter registration rules contain any provisions that would authorize the electoral commission to call on representatives of political parties to accept such a commitment.

“The BLA’s requirement of a personal undertaking is in direct conflict with the statutory verification scheme prescribed in Section 23 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which mandates that the inclusion of any name in the electoral roll shall be made by the Electoral Registration Officer after ‘due verification of the facts in such manner as may be prescribed,'” the petition.

“The prescribed method of verification under the Rules is to be carried out by statutory officers and not by private persons or representatives of parties. Imposing an obligation of personal verification on the BLA is tantamount to an illegal transfer of the statutory function to private entities,” he added.

Published – 03 Sep 2026 13:12 IST