Now voters will be identified by face, Supreme Court seeks answers from Center and Election Commission:

News India Live, Digital Desk: There have been rumblings of a major change to bring transparency in India’s election system. The Supreme Court, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), has issued a notice to the Central Government and the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking their response. In this petition, it has been demanded that in order to stop fake voting and make the electoral process completely safe, voters should be identified through ‘biometric’ and ‘facial recognition’ technology. If this rule is implemented, then in future merely showing the identity card will not be enough to cast vote.

Petition in Supreme Court: Preparation to stop fake voting

In this petition filed in the Supreme Court, it has been argued that there are many flaws in the current system, taking advantage of which fake votes are cast. The petitioner says that like the Aadhaar card, the biometric data (fingerprint) and facial data of the voters should be with the Election Commission. Before casting vote at the polling station, the voter’s face must be matched with the data available in the system. With this, the principle of ‘one man, one vote’ can be strictly implemented.

What is biometric and facial recognition technology?

Facial recognition is a modern technology in which a person’s facial features are scanned with the help of a camera. Fingerprints or iris scan are used in biometrics. A demand has been made to the Election Commission to install such equipment at every polling booth so that the voter can be identified immediately and accurately. This will not only end bogus voting, but will also completely stop misuse of identity cards.

Election Commission and government’s stance

After the notice of the Supreme Court, now the Election Commission and the government will have to give their opinion. Even before this, the Election Commission has taken steps towards linking the voter ID card with Aadhaar, but making biometric and facial recognition technology mandatory can be a big challenge. It also includes important issues like right to privacy and security of data of crores of voters.

India’s steps towards digital elections

If the government and the Election Commission agree to this proposal, India will join the few countries in the world where such advanced technology is used in elections. This will increase the credibility of the election results and eliminate the possibility of rigging at polling stations. However, implementing this technology in rural areas and ensuring technical literacy will be a huge task for the administration.