The Supreme Court has rejected a plea seeking immediate publication of Form 17C data on the Election Commission of India’s website, which includes booth-wise voter turnout information. The bench, comprising Justices Dipankar Dutta and Satish Chandra Sharma, stated that intervening in the ongoing elections, with five phases completed and the sixth approaching, was inappropriate. The court adjourned the matter, noting similarities with a pending petition from 2019.
The application was filed by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), urging the disclosure of final authenticated voter turnout data within 48 hours of polling completion. The Election Commission of India (ECI), represented by senior advocate Maninder Singh, opposed the plea, citing unfounded suspicions and potential damage to voter turnout due to continuous questioning of the electoral process.
Earlier, the ECI had expressed concerns about confusion among voters and no legal obligation to publish detailed voter turnout data. The NGO alleged delays and discrepancies in turnout figures, demanding tabulated data at various levels of the electoral process.