Supreme Court seeks EC's response on duplicate voters in MP, Rajasthan
New Delhi, Aug 23 : The Supreme Court on Thursday sought the Election Commission's response on a plea by Congress leaders alleging the existence of a large number of duplicate voters in electoral rolls in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
A bench of Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan also sought a response from the State Election Commission as senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the court that the EC was denying them the voters list in text mode citing privacy whereas in Rajasthan they had provided it in text mode.
Singhvi said the Election Commission manual itself mandates that text mode voters list would be made available to the contesting candidate and political parties. The court was informed that the last date for raising objections to the voters list ended on August 21.
Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath has moved to the top court raising issue of Madhya Pradesh and Sachin Pilot that of Rajasthan. Besides the voters list, there are other issues related to the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT).
The court was told that they had pointed to the presence of 60 lakh duplicate voters in 102 Assembly constituencies in Madhya Pradesh and 42 lakh in Rajasthan, Singhvi said.
Senior counsel Vivek Tankha said that after initially contesting the presence of 60 lakh duplicate voters in the voters list in Madhya Pradesh, they had deleted 24 lakh names.
Speaking to media persons after the hearing, Tankha said that besides duplicate votes, there were issues of fake votes as well.
He said in one instance in Madhya Pradesh, a small dwelling showed 20 or more voters while in Rajasthan there were 100 voters with the same address.
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Waqf board claims ownership of 53 historic monuments in Karnataka
Hubballi: The Karnataka Waqf Board has claimed ownership of 53 historical monuments across the state, including notable sites like Gol Gumbaz, Ibrahim Rauza, and Bara Kaman in Vijayapura. In 2005, the Waqf Board declared 43 of these sites in Vijayapura, once the capital of the Adil Shahi dynasty, as Waqf properties. However, these sites have since faced encroachments and unauthorised modifications.
According to records obtained through an RTI, the Waqf Board designated these 43 sites as Waqf properties using Record of Rights (ROR) documents, though the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is the recognised custodian of these protected sites. “While ASI is the holder of the land/monument, the encumbrance is the Waqf authority. This has been done without consulting ASI,” says the RTI response from the Union government.
This declaration was made by Mohammad Mohsin, who held dual roles as Vijayapura’s Deputy Commissioner and Waqf Board Chairman at the time.
“I don’t remember how many monuments were declared as Waqf properties. But whatever I have done is according to the government gazette notification issued by the Revenue Department and authentic documentary evidence produced by the parties,” said Mohsin.
Many of these monuments, designated as nationally significant heritage sites since 1914, are officially under ASI’s care as per the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (1958). ASI asserts that "once an ASI property, it is always an ASI property," meaning their ownership is non-transferable. However, sources report that several of these sites have been defaced, unscientifically renovated, or altered with elements like air conditioners, fluorescent lighting, and even commercial and residential structures, impacting their historical integrity and tourism appeal.
“Monuments are the living examples of our history. Monuments can be renovated/conserved in the prescribed manner only by ASI. However, the 43 monuments in Vijayapura are being defaced and are being repaired with plaster and cement. Fans, air conditioners, fluorescent lights and toilets are being added to the monuments. Shopkeepers have taken over certain properties. This is adversely impacting the flow of tourists to these monuments,” said an officer who did not wish to be named.
Since 2007, the Ministry of Culture has repeatedly requested the state authorities to clear encroachments on these sites. Despite a joint survey in 2012, ASI officials report that neither the Waqf Board nor the Vijayapura Deputy Commissioner’s office has provided adequate documentation to substantiate Waqf’s ownership claim. ASI officials, under directives to avoid commenting on the issue publicly, maintain that their ownership under the AMASR Act remains unchangeable.
