Election Commission gets relief as SC refuses to issue direction to upload voter turnout data amid Lok Sabha polls

Amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the Supreme Court declined a request from an NGO to instruct the Election Commission to upload polling station-wise voter turnout data on its website.

Click here to participate in our Lok Sabha Elections Survey to gauge the mood of the nation

The vacation bench, comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma, stated that issuing such directions would be challenging as it would require the poll panel to mobilize additional manpower.


This decision comes after five phases of polling have already concluded, with two phases remaining.

The justices emphasized that granting any relief on the interim application would effectively provide relief sought in the main petition. They reiterated the logistical difficulties the Election Commission would face in promptly uploading voter turnout data.

"Granting any relief in IA will amount to granting relief in the main petition which is pending," the bench said.

The court decided to adjourn the interlocutory application filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), scheduling it to be heard by a regular bench after the elections. The bench noted that the requests in the application seem to mirror those in the main petition, which has been pending since 2019.

Also Read: 'No legal mandate to disclose final voter turnout numbers': EC in affidavit to SC

The apex court, on May 17, had requested a response from the election watchdog within a week regarding the NGO's plea to ensure voter turnout data for each phase of the Lok Sabha elections is uploaded on the commission's website within 48 hours of polling completion.

EC's affidavit
The EC had also submitted an affidavit earlier this week, which stated that there's no legal mandate to upload share the final voter turnout data of all polling stations with anyone other than the candidate or their agents.

"ADR's application ignores the disclaimer to the effect that the figures in the non-statutory voter turnout app is secondary data and is only provisional in nature," EC said.

The poll panel also pointed out that turnout data of each polling booth is shared with polling agents of candidates on the day of voting itself and said giving out final voter turnout numbers based on Form 17C would lead to "confusion among voters as it will also include postal ballot counts'.

The ADR's interim application is filed from its 2019 Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directives for the Election Commission to upload "scanned legible copies of Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded)" from all polling stations immediately after the polls.