ECI says CCTV footage of 2024 Delhi LS polls destroyed; Congress claims ‘vote theft cover-up’

In a disclosure that has once again raised concerns about transparency in India’s electoral process, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has told the Delhi High Court that all CCTV footage from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Delhi has been destroyed.

The commission admitted that the recordings were no longer available with the seven district election officers (DEOs), as they had been erased under revised ECI guidelines issued on 30 May 2025 — barely a year after the polls.

The new rules require such data, including webcasting and polling station photographs, to be preserved for just 45 days, unless an election petition is filed.

The justification offered by the ECI — that the move was aimed at “preventing misuse of polling visuals” on social media — has only fueled public suspicion and sharp reaction from the Opposition that the Commission is shielding the ruling party from scrutiny rather than safeguarding the sanctity of elections.

Opposition called it an “attempt to erase evidence” of what they describe as a compromised electoral process.

“Modi and the Election Commission first steal votes and then delete the CCTV footage to destroy the evidence,” the Congress said in a post on X, calling the act part of a “vote theft system.”

The controversy stems from a petition filed by Advocate Mehmood Pracha, who contested the 2024 polls as an Independent from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. Pracha had sought the preservation of all CCTV and video recordings, citing the Handbook for Returning Officers (2023), which explicitly mandates the safe custody of election materials if a complaint or legal challenge is pending.

Pracha accused the ECI of issuing the 30 May circular with the intent to destroy evidence that could support ongoing legal proceedings. The ECI, in response, maintained that it acted lawfully under the revised retention policy.

Justice Mini Pushkarna recorded the Commission’s statement and observed that since Pracha had not challenged the validity of the May 30 circular itself, no interim relief could be granted.

The matter will next be heard on 13 February 2026.

But the ECI’s explanation — that the destruction of footage was necessary to prevent misuse — has raised more questions than answers.

The decision effectively eliminates the possibility of any independent verification of polling-day activities, booth management, or alleged irregularities in the 2024 elections — issues that have remained central to opposition allegations of mass manipulation and EVM tampering.

Critics argue that the ECI’s latest move is symptomatic of a larger institutional decline — where the commission increasingly acts as am arm of the ruling dispensation rather than an independent constitutional watchdog.

Political watchers say what was once hailed as the world’s most trusted election management body now finds itself accused of complicity in eroding the very foundations of free and fair elections.