The Supreme Court has declined a plea to direct the Election Commission to immediately publish final data on voter turnout for all polling stations amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The Court stated that such a matter should be considered only after the completion of the elections.

A vacation bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma emphasized the necessity of a hands-off approach during the election process. “Tomorrow is the sixth phase of elections. We feel that this case should be heard after the elections,” the bench noted.

The plea, filed by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), sought a directive for the Election Commission 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.

During the hearing, the Election Commission argued that the petition was based on unfounded suspicion and apprehension, suggesting that such claims could undermine public confidence in the electoral process. “The petition is only founded on suspicion and apprehension. Conducting elections is a herculean task being performed should not let such vested interests interfere,” the Election Commission stated.

The plea highlighted concerns about delays in publishing voter turnout data for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections, which were released 11 and 14 days after polling, respectively. This delay, coupled with significant revisions in the data, raised public suspicion regarding its accuracy.

The plea asserted the need for easy accessibility of voter turnout data, recommending that constituency and polling station-wise figures be disclosed in both absolute numbers and percentages. “In order to ensure easy accessibility of the data, a tabulation of the constituency and polling station-wise figures of voter turnout in absolute numbers and in percentage must also be disclosed,” it stated.

Previously, on May 17, the Supreme Court had granted the Election Commission one week to respond to the plea against the delay in releasing voter turnout data. The ADR has filed an interim application in its 2019 Public Interest Litigation (PIL), seeking directions for the poll panel to immediately upload scanned legible copies of Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded) of all polling stations post-polling.

This decision underscores the Court’s position on maintaining a non-interventionist stance during the election process, allowing the Election Commission to manage the logistics and transparency of the voting process without judicial interference until the elections conclude.

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