Overview
- Police registered the FIR at Tilak Marg police station on Wednesday after officials spotted altered second‑preference marks during the April 15 elimination stage of the count at the Delhi High Court premises.
- The FIR says handlers added the digit 1 before 2 to turn a voter’s second choice into 12, then wrote a fresh 2 next to Ballot No. 132, shifting transfers to that candidate and away from the voter’s original pick.
- Investigators have identified a member of the counting staff as the suspect and are reviewing the seized ballots to determine the scale of the manipulation and whether others were involved, according to DCP Sachin Sharma.
- The case cites Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions tied to cheating, forgery, use of forged documents, and criminal conspiracy, reflecting a criminal probe rather than an internal disciplinary matter.
- The Election Committee met candidates and said written grievances are due by Friday, with counting to resume Monday under a preferential system where second choices move as low‑scoring candidates are eliminated across 23 seats contested by more than 200 candidates.