Former deputy mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi has alleged violation of ballot secrecy during the municipal corporation elections held in Punjab on May 26 and demanded a high-level inquiry and re-polling.Former Mohali deputy mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi demanded criminal proceedings against officials responsible and warned that he would approach court if authorities failed to take action. (HT File)Bedi submitted a memorandum to the chief election commissioner of India, chief electoral officer, Punjab, chief secretary Punjab and deputy commissioner, Mohali, alleging that ballot papers issued during polling carried serial numbers identical to those printed on counterfoils, making it possible to trace voters’ choices.In his complaint, Bedi stated that he had gone to cast his vote at polling booth number 38 set up at Ambedkar Institute in Phase 3B2, Mohali, for Ward Number 10. He alleged that after receiving the ballot paper from polling staff, he noticed that both the counterfoil and ballot paper bore the same serial number.According to Bedi, the process compromised secrecy of voting as votes could allegedly be identified later by matching serial numbers on ballot papers with those on counterfoils signed by voters.He claimed that when he objected to the process, polling staff informed him that the ballot papers had been supplied in the same format by the Election Commission and they could not make any changes.Calling the issue serious, Bedi said that, secrecy of voting formed the foundation of free and fair elections and any possibility of linking voters to their ballots undermined public confidence in the electoral process.In the memorandum, Bedi referred to Rule 38 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, and provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, related to secrecy of voting. He also cited the Supreme Court judgment in People’s Union for Civil Liberties versus Union of India.Bedi demanded criminal proceedings against officials responsible and warned that he would approach court if authorities failed to take action