LUCKNOW, Aug. 20 -- Taking strong exception to non-publication of verification reports made by the Central Board of Direct Taxes of the asset disclosure forms of the election candidates, a mandate laid down by the SC more than seven years ago, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed that responsible officers from the Election Commission of India and the ministry of home affairs must join the proceedings through video conferencing on the next hearing on September 15. A division bench comprising Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla passed the order on August 11 in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by advocacy group Lok Prahari through its general secretary and retired IAS officer SN Shukla in 2021. He submitted that the Supreme Court's 2018 judgment required candidates' asset disclosures in Form 26 to be verified by the income tax department, with the resulting reports to be forwarded to the ECI and made publicly accessible. However, despite correspondence between the ECI and the CBDT, the reports have not been placed in the public domain. Shukla, appearing in person, argued that the Commission's inaction undermines electoral transparency and violates the apex court's order. The ECI, represented by senior advocate OP Srivastava, countered by claiming that it was the responsibility of the I-T department to publish the reports. This assertion was denied by the counsel for the tax authorities who maintained that no such obligation rested with them. With the conflicting stands of the parties, the court made clear its dissatisfaction. "Prima facie, if at all this was to be done, it was to be done by the Election Commission of India," the court observed, emphasising that the ECI, being a statutory independent body, must develop a mechanism to ensure such disclosures are available to the public. The court said, "The judgment of Hon'ble the Supreme Court was passed in 2018 and we are now in 2025 and it has not been given effect."HTC...