MISCELLANEOUS

Conduct of enquiry into complaints.

Election Commission's Letter No. 464/93 (INST) dated the 30th March, 1993 addressed to (1) the Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories (2) the Chief Electoral Officers of all States/Union Territories.
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Subject :- Conduct of Enquiry into complaints

During the process of elections and election related work like the revision of electoral rolls, the Commission receives a number of complaints from political parties, contesting candidates, electors, voluntary organisations and other alleging irregularities or violations of electoral law, codes, standing instructions of the Commission. Since the Commission does not have any offices of its own any where in the country, these complaints are normally sent to the Chief Secretaries and Chief Electoral Officers of the State and Union Territories for enquiry and report.

2. Instances have come to the notice of Commission in which the Chief Secretaries and the Chief Electoral Officers endorse these complaints routinely further down in the hierarchy for inquiry, as a result of which, more often that not, these complaints are handled by those very officials against whom they are alleged. To compound the matter further the explanations/so called findings arrived at by the officials at State or District levels and even below, are simply forwarded to the Commission by the Chief Electoral Officers and/or the Chief Secretaries, without any application of mind at their own level, and without giving their own analytical comments/findings.

3. The Commission does not find the above practice as acceptable. The Commission directs that the Chief Secretaries and the Chief Electoral Officers, when asked by the Commission to enquire into complaints and representations, should in the first instance enquire into the allegations either themselves or with the help of such senior State level officials as are likely to display independence of judgement and objectivity. The Commission also expects that when forwarding the reports of the inquiry the Chief Secretaries and/or the Chief Electoral Officers should apply their own mind and give their own findings or conclusions to the Commission.

4. Please acknowledge receipt of these instructions and send copies of any consequential orders issued on them, to the Commission for information and record.



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