Press Trust of India: New Delhi: Wednesday, May 10, 2017.
Are elections
in the Indian Science Congress Association rigged?
Amid heated
debate on rigging of EVMs, election process in the prestigious body of
scientists is also facing similar allegations albeit of lighter intensity.
The case came
before the Central Information Commission where Botany Professor at Lucknow
University Umesh Chandra Lavania alleged that process of elections in the
Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) has been kept secret and claimed
that polls to the post of its General President could have been
"rigged".
The ISCA is a
body of scientists working in India which was set up during British-era in
1914. It has about 10,000 scientists as its members.
Lavania, CSIR
Emeritus Scientist and AcSIR Emeritus Professor, was one of three contestants
in elections for the General President of the body.
Through his
RTI application, Lavania had sought to know from the Association the names of
the voters (council members) who have sent their filled ballots for election to
the office of the General President of the ISCA, dates of receiving them, among
other details about polls.
These details
were not shared by the ISCA which had claimed that the information sought
"absolutely pertains to internal and confidential affairs of the
Association".
The
association is not under any obligation to supply any such information touching
its internal and purely confidential affairs, it had said.
"He
alleged that the public authority built iron curtains around entire election
process and not even disclosing split votes, votes secured by each
contestant," Information Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu noted in his
order.
Rejecting the
arguments of the Association, Acharyulu has now directed it to disclose details
of total number of votes, votes polled, invalid and valid votes and votes
polled for each candidate etc, in all the elections conducted by it.
He also
directed the body to explain the reasons of introducing the secrecy or
confidentiality in elections.
"Not
only the candidate, but also every citizen has a right to know this
information. As a candidate, the appellant has not only right under RTI Act, but
also under natural principles of justice and normal practice of conducting
elections, entitled to know what all he asked for," he said.
Acharyulu
said the scientists' body should have learnt to conduct elections in
transparent manner by, at least, watching the news or website of Election
Commission of India.
"The
Commission also directs the President, to explain why the ICSA should not be
directed to pay compensation to the appellant for deprivation of his rights by
wrongful denial of information, before 31st May 2017," he said.
Acharyulu
said this information can be denied only when exempted by Section 8 and 9 of
the RTI Act.
"It is
not imaginable that the top scientists, president, executive members or council
members or its CPIO or their legal advisers do not know that RTI Act made by
Parliament prevails over Rules and Regulations made by their body," he
said.
The
Information Commissioner said it is a common sense issue that once election is
conducted, the authority has to declare the result giving details of votes
obtained by each candidate, majority margin etc.
"Claiming
it as internal and confidential affairs of the association is absolutely
unscientific, illegal and unacceptable," he said.
Acharyulu
noted it was surprising that a body of top scientists was not willing to inform
the number of votes obtained by each candidate who had contested the elections
even under RTI.
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