India, June 3, 2024
The voter turnout data in terms of the votes polled and those that are rejected has been stayed by the Supreme Court of India for 48 hours at each polling booth. The plea was filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), and it prayed before this court to issue appropriate directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to extract and put this data on its website at the end of each phase of ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
The judges, Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma declared that the prayers in the interim application were identical to those of the main petition under consideration since 2019. The judges stated that if any relief is to be offered in the interim application, this is the same as providing relief in the main petition, which is still active. Hence, the court decided to list the matter after the court vacation in July.
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For instance, the ADR demonstrated that the ECI provided lower voter turnout rates at the start compared to the end of the polling. Currently, the opposition, civil society, and other interested parties have demanded that the ECI place Part I of Form 17C data online. Still, the ECI argued that it did not need to disclose this information to anyone apart from the election candidates or their respective representatives.
The court’s decision to adjourn the plea has been viewed as the court distancing itself coupled with the current general election. The judges also noted that they are law-abiding citizens and should be out of the polls. It may taken up for hearing after the Lok Sabha elections are over.
The ECI deduced that it might lead to confusion and distrust and give rise to disruptions if records in Form 17C were posted online. The court deferred the plea to preserve the sanctity of the polls, stating that the process was still ongoing.
