The Supreme Court Today (Feb 25) will hear a plea demanding the Election Commission to publish voter turnout and final vote count online. The case follows delays and unexpected spikes in polling data, raising transparency concerns.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India will hear a case today asking the Election Commission to share details of voter turnout and final vote count on its website after election results are announced.
The case to be heard by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar.
PREVIOUSLY IN TOP COURT ON VOTER TURNOUT DATA
On May 24, 2024, the Supreme Court had earlier refused to give any order on a similar request. This request wanted the Election Commission of India (ECI) to upload Form 17C data and booth-wise voter turnout on its website.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Dutta and Satish Chandra Sharma did not provide any temporary relief, saying it could not interfere while elections were going on.
ALSO READ: “Aa Bail Mujhe Maar”: Supreme Court on Mobile App of Poll Panel’s Voter Turnout
The bench pointed out that five out of seven election phases were already over, and the sixth phase was scheduled for Saturday. The Supreme Court said that during the elections, it is important to follow a “hands-off” approach. The court also reminded the petitioner that a similar request had already been pending since 2019.
The court clearly stated, “Prima facie we are not inclined to grant any interim relief since prayer A of the 2019 petition is similar to prayer B of the 2024 application. List the interim plea after (summer) vacation.”
The court also mentioned that it was not giving any opinion on whether the request was right or wrong, except for the initial decision.
The case was filed by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The NGO asked the Supreme Court to order the Election Commission to publish final confirmed data of voter turnout at each polling station. They also asked that the exact number of votes polled in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections be shared within 48 hours after polling.
During the hearing, senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing the Election Commission of India (ECI), argued that the ADR’s request was based on “unfounded suspicions” and was “false”.
He also blamed such petitions for reducing voter turnout, saying that constant “questioning of the process” makes people lose trust in elections. He added that this behavior was harming public confidence and putting a question mark on the fairness of elections.
The Election Commission (ECI) had already filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court. It argued that sharing voter turnout data using Form 17C would create confusion among voters, as the data also includes postal ballots.
The ECI also said there was no legal rule that required it to publish the final confirmed voter turnout from every polling station. Earlier, on May 17, the Supreme Court had asked the ECI to respond to the application demanding the immediate uploading of vote counts for each polling station after voting ended.
The NGO ADR had also raised concerns about the delay in publishing voter turnout data for the first two phases of elections. They claimed that the Election Commission took too long to share the data and that there was an unexpected increase in the turnout figures compared to the initial numbers released on polling day.
ADR requested the Supreme Court to order the Election Commission to publish:
- Polling station-wise data in absolute numbers as recorded in Form 17C Part-I after every phase of polling.
- Constituency-wise voter turnout figures in absolute numbers for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections.
- Scanned copies of Form 17C Part-II, which contain candidate-wise counting results, on the ECI website after the results are finalized.
The application also pointed out that the voter turnout data for the first two election phases was published by the ECI on April 30—this was 11 days after Phase 1 voting on April 19 and 4 days after Phase 2 voting on April 26.
The ADR highlighted a major concern: the Election Commission’s April 30 press release showed a sharp increase of about 5-6% in voter turnout compared to the numbers initially announced on polling day.
For example, the ADR compared:
- Phase I voter turnout (April 19, 2024) – Initially reported around 60%, but later changed to 66.14%.
- Phase II voter turnout (April 26, 2024) – Initially reported around 61%, but later changed to 66.71%.
According to the ADR, this showed a 6% increase in Phase I and about a 5.75% increase in Phase II, raising questions about why the numbers changed so much.
This case will now be heard in the Supreme Court, and its decision could impact how election data is published in the future.
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