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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain plea by an NGO to direct the Election Commission to upload voter turnout data for each polling station on its website during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
The vacation bench, comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma, stated that it would be challenging for the Election Commission to arrange the necessary manpower at this stage, as five phases of polling have already been completed, with only two remaining.
“We should also keep in mind the ground realities and not overburden the EC during the elections that too by changing the process mid-way,” it said.
The court adjourned the interlocutory plea filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) to be heard by the regular bench after the elections.
The bench noted that the prayers in the application appear to be similar to those in the main petition, which has been pending since 2019 on the same issue. “Granting any relief in IA will amount to granting relief in the main petition which is pending,” the bench said.
On May 17, the Supreme Court had requested a response from the Election Commission within a week regarding the NGO’s plea. The ADR had filed an interim application as part of its 2019 PIL, seeking directions for the poll panel to upload legible scanned copies of “Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded)” from all polling stations immediately after the conclusion of each phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
The vacation bench, comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma, stated that it would be challenging for the Election Commission to arrange the necessary manpower at this stage, as five phases of polling have already been completed, with only two remaining.
“We should also keep in mind the ground realities and not overburden the EC during the elections that too by changing the process mid-way,” it said.
The court adjourned the interlocutory plea filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) to be heard by the regular bench after the elections.
The bench noted that the prayers in the application appear to be similar to those in the main petition, which has been pending since 2019 on the same issue. “Granting any relief in IA will amount to granting relief in the main petition which is pending,” the bench said.
On May 17, the Supreme Court had requested a response from the Election Commission within a week regarding the NGO’s plea. The ADR had filed an interim application as part of its 2019 PIL, seeking directions for the poll panel to upload legible scanned copies of “Form 17C Part-I (Account of Votes Recorded)” from all polling stations immediately after the conclusion of each phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
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