FIR filed against counting staff over ‘tampering’ of ballots in elections to Bar Council of Delhi

Weather ePaper Today’s Paper Journalism of Courage Home ePaper Politics Explained Opinion India Business Premium Cities UPSC Entertainment Sports World Lifestyle Tech Subscribe Sign In TrendingUPSC OfferIPL 2026US NewsPuzzles & GamesLegal NewsFresh TakeHealthResearch🎙️ Podcast Advertisement function checkAndLoadWindowSizeScript() { if (window.jQuery) { // jQuery is loaded, include your script jQuery(document).ready(function($) { // Your existing script for checking window width if (window.innerWidth) var page_w = window.innerWidth; else if (document.all) var page_w = document.body.clientWidth; if (page_w > 1024) { $(".add-left, .add-right").show(); } else { $(".add-left, .add-right").hide(); } }); } else { // jQuery is not loaded, check again after 0.2 seconds setTimeout(checkAndLoadWindowSizeScript, 200); } } // Initial call to the function checkAndLoadWindowSizeScript(); NewsCitiesDelhiFIR filed against counting staff over ‘tampering’ of ballots in elections to Bar Council of Delhi FIR filed against counting staff over ‘tampering’ of ballots in elections to Bar Council of Delhi As per the FIR, filed under BNS sections 318 (forgery) and 340 (forgery of documents), the issue came to light on Wednesday during a process of elimination of ballots. By: Express News Service2 min readNew DelhiApr 17, 2026 08:00 AM IST Delhi Police have filed an FIR for forgery and conspiracy after a counting staff member was allegedly caught tampering with second-preference votes to benefit a specific candidate during the Bar Council of Delhi election count. (File photo) Make us preferred source on Google Whatsapp twitter Facebook Reddit PRINT The Delhi Police has registered an FIR against a counting staff over alleged tampering of ballots in the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) elections, officers said Thursday. As per the FIR, filed under BNS sections 318 (forgery) and 340 (forgery of documents), the issue came to light on Wednesday during a process of elimination of ballots. “The elimination process started on 13th April 2026 and today i.e. on 15th April 2026 … during the elimination of the 80th Candidate… Ballot No. 17, it was observed that there are many ballots in which the next best preference i.e. second preference has been manipulated and fresh second preference has been written in favour of Ballot No. 132…,” it read. The process of counting in the BCD elections is conducted through a preferential system and after the first preference votes are counted, candidates who get the least number of votes are eliminated. Each candidate is assigned a number, which are written on ballots by members when they cast votes. The FIR alleges that the ballots were tampered with by changing the number on them. “It is relevant to mention that this sequence has been repeated in many ballots by putting digit ‘1’ in front of the digit ‘2’ and making it appear as ‘12’ and thereafter marking digit ‘2’ in front of Ballot No. 132, thereby causing wrongful loss to the candidate, in whose favour the second preference was actually exercised by the Voter and caused wrongful gain to Ballot No. 132 … in whose favour manipulation /fabrication/forgery has been done on the ballot papers, which are valuable security, creating a vested right in getting elected as Member of the Bar Council of Delhi, which is a statutory body,” the FIR also stated. The Election Committee subsequently conducted an internal inquiry into the alleged manipulation, and foundthat a member of the counting staff was involved, the FIR mentioned. BCD sources said that the Election Committee held a meeting with candidates and it was decided that candidates will be allowed to submit their grievances in writing by Friday and the counting will only resume Monday. Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram