SC Seeks EC's Response on Plea for Release of Voter Turnout Data Within 48 Hours of LS Polls

Holding an urgent hearing at 6:30 on Friday evening, the Supreme Court sought a response within a week from the Election Commission on a plea by an NGO seeking a direction 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. Direct the Election Commission to provide tabulated polling station-wise data in absolute figures of the number of votes polled as recorded in Form 17C Part- I after each phase of polling in the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections and also a tabulation of constituency-wise figures of voter turnout in absolute numbers in the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” the NGO said. “The voter turnout data for the first two phases of the ongoing 2024 Lok Sabha elections published by ECI on April 30 has been published after 11 days of the first phase of polling… on April 19 and four days after the second phase of polling… on April 26. The petition said the “inordinate” delay in the release of the final voter turnout data, coupled with the unusually high revision of over five per cent in the poll panel’s press note of April 30, 2024, has raised concerns and public suspicion regarding the correctness of the said data.