Overview
- The Supreme Court, which issued notices Monday, asked the Centre, the Election Commission of India, and states to respond to a petition seeking fingerprint and iris checks at polling booths to stop impersonation, duplicate voting, and bribery.
- The bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant said the proposal cannot be used in the ongoing state Assembly elections and will be examined only for future parliamentary or state polls.
- The judges noted that adopting biometrics would need changes to election rules and significant spending, and any rollout would depend on the election regulator’s authority and government support.
- Petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, a BJP lawyer, argued the Election Commission’s powers under Article 324 and Aadhaar’s use as ID support biometric checks, filing the case after a March 28 request to the poll panel drew no action.
- Reports also point to privacy and data‑handling risks and say facial recognition could be studied, indicating broad changes that could alter how voters prove identity at polling stations.