Supreme Court refuses to direct ECI to disclose booth-wise voter turnout data under Form 17C

The Supreme Court on May 24 refused to direct the Election Commission of India (ECI) to disclose booth-wise voter turnout data under Form 17C. The apex court was hearing a plea seeking the uploading of Form 17C data and booth-wise voter turnout data on the ECI website.  

The application was filed by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). A 2019 writ petition by TMC leader Mahua Moitra alleging discrepancies in the voter turnout data was also listed. 

A vacation bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma said that a "hands-off approach" has to be taken by the Court regarding the election process and that there cannot be any interruptions in the process.

"In between elections, hands-off approach has to be taken. Let the application be heard along with the main writ petition. We cannot interrupt the process. Let us have some trust in the authority," Justice Datta orally said.

The ECI on May 22 told the Supreme Court that there is no legal right that can be claimed towards publishing final authenticated data of voter turnout in all polling stations. 

In an affidavit filed before the apex court, the poll body stated that disclosure of voter turnout data based on Form 17C (votes polled in each polling station) will cause confusion among voters as it will also include postal ballot counts. 

The ADR in its application sought directions to the ECI to upload scanned, legible copies of Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded), on its website. 

The data should be uploaded after each phase of polling in the ongoing 2024 elections and must provide constituency and polling station-wise figures of voter turnout in absolute numbers and in percentage form, the application stated. 

Additionally, ADR sought disclosure of Part-II of Form 17C which contains the candidate-wise result of counting after the compilation of results. The NGO alleged that there has been a dereliction of duty on the part of the ECI in declaring election results through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) based on accurate and indisputable data. 

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had earlier orally asked ECI counsel what the difficulty was in putting up the voter turnout details on its website within two days of polling.

The ECI in its reply affidavit contended that ADR has “vested interests” on throwing false allegations at the regulator to discredit its working. The poll body stated that ADR has been claiming a legal entitlement where none exists, that too amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.