Updated – May 24, 2024 10:13 am IST
Published – May 24, 2024 10:01 am IST
The Supreme Court will hear today a batch of petitions seeking a direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling for each phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
Besides alleging delay in the publication of voter turnout data of the first two phases of polling, the petitioners have flagged a sizeable difference in the initial turnout figures released by the ECI soon after the conclusion of polling and the final voter percentages published subsequently.
A vacation Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma will hear the matter. The alleged irregularities have also resulted in Opposition leaders and civil society members demanding the publication of Part I of Form 17C (Account of votes recorded) data on the poll body’s website. Under Rule 49S(2) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 a presiding officer is mandated to furnish a copy of the entries made in Form 17C to the polling agents of the candidates at the close of polling.
Also Read: Explained | Why are concerns being raised over the Election Commission’s voter turnout data?
On May 18, a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud orally asked the ECI to explain its inability to immediately upload on its website authenticated, scanned and legible accounts of votes recorded booth-wise after each phase of polling in the Lok Sabha elections.
“Every Polling Officer submits [voting records] by the evening, after 6 or 7 p.m., by which time the polling is completed. The Returning Officer would then have the data of the entire constituency. Why don’t you upload it?”, the CJI had enquired.
Also Read | Congress questions delay in release of voter turnout data by EC
Notably, in an affidavit filed before the apex court, the poll body maintained that there was no “legal mandate” to provide the voter turnout data to any person other than electoral candidates or their agents. It also claimed that the disclosure of data on the “Voter Turnout App” is a “voluntary” and “non-statutory” initiative intended for transparency and public facilitation.
“Indiscriminate disclosure, public posting on the website increases the possibility of the images being morphed, including the counting results which then can create widespread public discomfort and mistrust in the entire electoral processes”, the Commission said.
Casting aspersions on the motives of the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) who had filed one of the petitions, the ECI said that there was a “consistent mala fide campaign to raise doubts against the EC in every possible way by voicing misleading allegations”. It also referred to ADR’s unsuccessful challenge in the EVM-VVPAT cross-verification case and claimed that the top Court had already discussed the issue of Form 17C and its various aspects.
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