The Delhi High Court has held that Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls can be held responsible only for information that they are capable of verifying.
Justice Amit Bansal made the observation while hearing a plea challenging the Election Commission of India’s requirement that BLAs give personal undertakings regarding verification of details in enumeration forms.
Background of the Case
The petition was filed by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Devender Yadav and another petitioner. They challenged Clause 9(d)(iv) of the Election Commission’s June 24, 2025 guidelines, which required BLAs to certify that they had personally verified the particulars contained in the forms and were satisfied about their correctness.
The petitioners argued that electoral roll verification is a statutory responsibility of election officials and could not be transferred to representatives of political parties through administrative directions.
They also sought printed and soft copies of the 2002 electoral rolls and the Frozen Photo Electoral Roll to help BLAs identify discrepancies during the SIR exercise.
While pronouncing its decision, the High Court clarified the extent of responsibility that could be placed on BLAs under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act.
“In the opinion of this Court, BLA can only be made liable in terms of Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act for information that can be verified by the BLA, i.e., the photograph in the enumeration form matches with the identity of the elector.”
The Court therefore distinguished between information a BLA can actually verify and other particulars contained in an elector’s form.
The Delhi High Court disposed of the plea with the above clarification regarding the liability of BLAs.
A detailed copy of the order is awaited.
Case Details
Case Title: Devender Yadav & Anr v. Election Commission of India & Anr
Case Number: W.P.(C) 11278/2026
Judge: Justice Amit Bansal
Decision Date: September 3, 2026
