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The Supreme Court has decided not to order the Election Commission of India (ECI) to upload booth-wise voter turnout data within 48 hours of voting during the current Lok Sabha Elections 2024. This decision came after a request from the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) to release detailed voter turnout information quickly.
The hearing, led by Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma, noted that it would be hard for the ECI to find enough staff to upload this data, especially since five out of the seven voting phases are already done.
The judges stated, “Granting this request now would be like deciding on the main case, which has been pending since 2019. Since the election is already underway, it’s not feasible for the Election Commission to upload the turnout data. We will look at this request after the summer break.”
ADR’s request is part of a larger case from 2019, asking for the ECI to make election data more transparent and quickly accessible. This recent request came after discrepancies were noticed in the voter turnout figures announced for the first two phases of the election.
On May 17, the Supreme Court had asked the ECI to respond to ADR’s request. ADR wants the ECI to upload “scanned legible copies of Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded)” from all polling stations immediately after voting to ensure transparency and trust in the election process.
By postponing the decision, the court acknowledges the difficulties of implementing these changes during the election and signals the need for better transparency measures in future elections. The main case and the recent request will be reviewed by the court after the elections.
