Supreme Court to expedite hearing on voter turnout data release
The Supreme Court has decided to urgently hear a plea from the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) seeking a directive for the Election Commission of India to publish polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website. The ADR asked that ECI upload the data within 48 hours after each Lok Sabha election phase. The bench, including Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, agreed to hear the matter at the end of the board.
ADR's request for detailed voter turnout data
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the ADR, mentioned the matter. The NGO filed an interim application last week in its 2019 Public Interest Litigation (PIL), asking for directions to the EC to upload "scanned legible copies of Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded)" from all polling stations immediately after the polls. The ADR is requesting that the EC provide tabulated polling station-wise data in absolute figures of votes polled as recorded in Form 17C Part-I after each phase of polling.
ADR raises concerns over delayed voter turnout data
The plea aims to ensure that democratic processes are not undermined by electoral irregularities. The NGO highlighted that the voter turnout data for the first two phases, published by ECI on April 30, was released 11 days after the first phase and four days after the second phase. This delay in releasing final voter turnout data and an unusually high revision of over 5% in the poll panel's press note of April 30, 2024, have raised public concerns, it said.
