New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to issue any directives on a plea seeking the uploading of Form 17C data on the Election Commission of India (ECI) website and the publication of booth-wise voter turnout data. A bench of Justices Dipankar Dutta and Satish Chandra Sharma refused to grant any interim relief to the petitioners, emphasizing that it could not disrupt the ongoing elections.
The bench noted that of the seven-phase elections, five phases have been completed, and the sixth phase is scheduled for Saturday. “A ‘hands-off’ approach is needed in the middle of the election process,” observed the apex court while adjourning the application. The bench informed the petitioner that the interim prayer raised in the present application was identical to a prayer in a petition pending before the court since 2019.
“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,” ordered the bench. The court clarified that it has not expressed any opinion on the merits of the case apart from this prima facie view.
The apex court was hearing an application filed by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) seeking the disclosure of final authenticated data of voter turnout in all polling stations, including the number of votes polled in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 within 48 hours of polling.
During the hearing, senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing the ECI, argued that ADR’s application was based on “unfounded suspicions” and “false” premises. Singh contended that such petitions diminish voter turnout by continually questioning the electoral process, thereby harming public interest by casting doubts on the sanctity of the elections.
Earlier, the ECI had filed an affidavit before the top court stating that publishing voter turnout data based on Form 17C, which records votes polled in each polling station, would cause confusion among voters as it includes postal ballot counts. The ECI argued that there is no legal obligation to publish final authenticated data of voter turnout in all polling stations.
On May 17, the Supreme Court had asked the ECI to file its response to the application seeking immediate directions to upload accounts of votes recorded at all polling stations after each phase of polling in the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The NGO ADR had alleged an inordinate delay in the publication of voter turnout data for the first two phases of polling.
The application highlighted a sharp spike in voter turnout figures from the initial percentages released by the Election Commission. It sought a directive for the ECI to provide tabulated polling station-wise data in absolute figures of the number of votes polled as recorded in Form 17C Part-I, after each phase of polling in the ongoing elections. It also requested the uploading of scanned legible copies of Form 17C Part-II, which contains the candidate-wise result of counting after the compilation of results.
The application noted that voter turnout data for the first two phases were published by the ECI on April 30, 11 days after the first phase of polling held on April 19, and four days after the second phase held on April 26. It stated that the data showed a significant increase (about 5-6%) from the initial percentages announced on the polling day.
The NGO pointed out that the data published in the ECI’s April 30 press release showed a Phase I voter turnout of 66.14% and a Phase II turnout of 66.71%. This marked an increase of nearly 6% and approximately 5.75% respectively from the initial figures announced on April 19 and April 26.
