NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is considering a proposal to set up dedicated verification desks outside polling stations in West Bengal to verify the identity of voters whose faces are covered, such as a burqa, ghonghat, scarf or any other piece of cloth, two senior commission officials said, requesting anonymity.
Under the proposed system, the faces of these voters will be scanned with their ID cards at the outside counter before they are allowed to enter the polling station. Under the current procedure, voters wearing face coverings enter the polling station directly and are only verified at the time of casting their ballot, inside the booth.
“The proposal is still under preparation and a final decision has not yet been taken. If approved, it may be submitted when the Model Code of Conduct comes into force; more operational details will be released at that stage,” an official said. “The verification will be uniform – it will be conducted only by women officials, poll workers and Anganwadi Sevikas.”
The proposal is currently being considered for the West Bengal elections, but officials said it could also be considered in other districts that will go to the polls after further discussions.
Officials cited complaints of misconduct in past elections as one of the reasons for the proposal.
Both officials assured that state government officials would operate the verification counters. However, Anganwadi sevikas will do the actual face verification. Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel will be deployed at the counters to ensure security and protect both anganwadi workers and voters from intimidation, pressure or interference during the verification process.
The poll panel and the state government have been locked in a legal tussle, with the Supreme Court citing a “lack of trust” between the two sides in its February 20 order. The commission had submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court alleging obstruction, non-cooperation and intimidation of election officials by the state administration.
“In-booth verification depends entirely on state-appointed polling staff conducting the checks. Shifting the process to an external office under close supervision of the IEC, staffed by anganwadi workers, election officials and CAPF staff, reduces dependence on regular polling staff and ensures better monitoring of the verification process,” said one of the officials cited above.
“It also creates a visible, documented, and auditable checkpoint, generating a paper trail that will be easier to defend before the Supreme Court, which already oversees elections,” they added.
The proposal raises several legal questions. The Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the Election Conduct Rules, 1961 – the two fundamental laws governing elections – do not mention any face verification measure at polling stations. The proposal technically falls within the committee’s broad constitutional powers under Article 324, but any system for Bengal would rely on administrative instructions rather than explicit parliamentary legislation, the officials cited above said.
The Commission’s 1994 guidelines, issued during the tenure of then Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan, require identity checks to be conducted inside a polling station, at a private place, and by female staff only. The general check meter located outside the cabin will deviate from these instructions.
Questions have also been raised about whether the application of such a measure only in West Bengal – while not in other states with similar practices – could invite scrutiny under Article 14 of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law.
A decision is still pending on whether private spaces, where women can show their faces if they need privacy, will be created, along with an outdoor counter.
If implemented, the proposal would go beyond the procedure used during last year’s Bihar Assembly elections, where women voters wearing burqas or other face coverings were verified inside polling stations. Anganwadi civikas were deployed alongside poll officials at more than 90,000 polling stations across Bihar to help verify identities – but the process remained indoors.
Prominent lawyer Firdaus Mirza criticized the proposal and questioned its legal basis. “The authority of the Independent Electoral Commission is limited to the polling station,” he said. “Outside the booths, it cannot create new verification barriers for voters.” Mirza said that if such a system is introduced, it will not be possible to handle it only by women officials, as representatives of all political parties, such as booth-level agents, must also be present to ensure transparency. “The MCC does not give the committee unlimited powers; it essentially prevents the ruling government from abusing state machinery during elections. The RPA also does not allow such face verification measures,” he said.
“Creating additional obstacles at the entrance to the booth may discourage voters, while the goal of the electoral process is to maximize participation,” Mirza added.
“Uniform rules must be followed.”
Former Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat said voter verification is a core responsibility of the ECI but any process must follow clear and uniform rules. “On polling day, the commission’s first responsibility after ensuring free and fair elections is to verify the identity of voters. The commission has the power to introduce identity verification procedures, but the system must inspire confidence not only among election officials but also between political parties and their representatives,” he said.
“In general, states that vote together follow a common set of rules. State-specific measures should be applied only if there is a clear background of violence, fake identity or similar problems observed in previous elections. Without this justification, it becomes difficult to establish separate guidelines for a single state,” Rawat said.