Editor's Pick | SC rejects plea to direct ECI to upload voter data

On Friday, the Supreme Court refused an NGO’s plea to direct the Election Commission of India (ECI) to upload authenticated, scanned and legible copies of Form 17C showing the account of votes recorded booth- wise after each phase of polling in the Lok Sabha elections. A Vacation Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma said the court did not want to divert the attention of the ECI on the eve of the sixth phase of general elections – 57 seats spread over seven States and Union Territories including Haryana and Delhi will vote today. Mammoth polls require huge human resources, the Court said. “Everyone is for a fair and free election. The Supreme Court cannot interrupt the conduct of elections. It can only enhance the conduct of the polls… We have to be conscious of the ground reality,” Justice Datta remarked. The Court adjourned the application simpliciter. It said the interim relief sought by the NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), in its application for publication of voter turnout data in Form 17C was already part of relief sought in a petition pending since 2019. The Court recorded that granting the interim prayer in an application would amount to giving the final relief in the writ petition itself. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, for the ECI, raised preliminary objections at the very start of the hearing. He said the ADR application was based on unfounded suspicions and apprehensions meant to discredit the EC. The ECI said ADR had suppressed the information about an April 26, 2024 judgment in the EVM-VVPAT case, in which it had discussed aspects of Form 17C. “The April 26 judgment was holistic. ADR cannot raise supplementary points repeatedly. It cannot apply constructive res judicata in the midst of an election process involving 96 crore voters. Vested interests are interfering with this festival of democracy. The court should deal with them with a heavy hand,” Mr. Singh said. Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for TMC leader Mahua Moitra, said for Mr. Singh to say the EVM-VVPAT judgment dealt with Form 17C was a travesty. It had made only a passing mention of the issue. ADR, represented by senior advocate Dushyant Dave, advocates Prashant Bhushan, Neha Rathi and Cheryl D’Souza, had highlighted how the voter turnout data for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections were published by the EC on April 30, 11 days after the first phase of polling held on April 19 and four days after the second phase of polling held on April 26. The NGO had argued that the data published by the ECI in its April 30 press release had shown a sharp increase (by about 5-6%) from the initial percentages announced by it on the polling day. ADR had said the delay in publishing the final voter turnout data, coupled with the unusually high revision (of over 5%) in the ECI press note of April 30 had raised “public suspicion and apprehensions” about the correctness of the data. “The difference of five to six per cent between initial and absolute voter turnout details is wrong,” Mr. Singh submitted. He said there were 8,336 candidates and 10.5 lakh polling booths. “Every candidate has polling agents, a total of over 87,000. Everyone is checking the process, keeping an eagle eye on the conduct. Imagination and supposition cannot be made weapons against the ECI,” Mr. Singh contended. In an editorial, The Hindu had pointed out that the integrity and the credibility of the ECI is central to the legitimacy of elections. “Reinforcing its independence should be a priority for all stakeholders in Indian democracy, particularly political parties and the judiciary. The ECI is too important to be left to itself.” The Hindu’s Editorials Welcome bounty: On the RBI’s ₹2.11-lakh-crore transfer to the Union government Southern sojourn: On the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in India The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Haryana’s former Chief Minister Manohar Lal and his successor Nayab Singh Saini are seeking to win the Lok Sabha election and Assembly bypoll from this constituency, which is going to polls on May 25. which seat are they both contesting from? Ambala City Hisar Gurgaon Karnal To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 25 May 2024 [The Hindu logo] [EP Logo] Editor's Pick 25 May 2024 In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( SC rejects plea to direct ECI to upload voter data On Friday, the Supreme Court refused an NGO’s plea to direct the Election Commission of India (ECI) to upload authenticated, scanned and legible [copies of Form 17C]( showing the account of votes recorded booth- wise after each phase of polling in the Lok Sabha elections. A Vacation Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma said the court did not want to divert the attention of the ECI on the eve of the sixth phase of general elections – [57 seats spread over seven States and Union Territories]( including Haryana and Delhi will vote today. Mammoth polls require huge human resources, the Court said. “Everyone is for a fair and free election. The Supreme Court cannot interrupt the conduct of elections. It can only enhance the conduct of the polls… We have to be conscious of the ground reality,” Justice Datta remarked. The Court adjourned the application simpliciter. It said the interim relief sought by the NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), in its application for publication of voter turnout data in Form 17C was already part of relief sought in a petition pending since 2019. The Court recorded that granting the interim prayer in an application would amount to giving the final relief in the writ petition itself. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, for the ECI, raised preliminary objections at the very start of the hearing. He said the ADR application was based on unfounded suspicions and apprehensions meant to discredit the EC. The ECI said ADR had suppressed the information about an April 26, 2024 judgment in the EVM-VVPAT case, in which it had discussed aspects of Form 17C. “The April 26 judgment was holistic. ADR cannot raise supplementary points repeatedly. It cannot apply constructive res judicata in the midst of an election process involving 96 crore voters. Vested interests are interfering with this festival of democracy. The court should deal with them with a heavy hand,” Mr. Singh said. Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, appearing for TMC leader Mahua Moitra, said for Mr. Singh to say the EVM-VVPAT judgment dealt with Form 17C was a travesty. It had made only a passing mention of the issue. ADR, represented by senior advocate Dushyant Dave, advocates Prashant Bhushan, Neha Rathi and Cheryl D’Souza, had highlighted how the voter turnout data for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections were published by the EC on April 30, 11 days after the first phase of polling held on April 19 and four days after the second phase of polling held on April 26. The NGO had argued that the data published by the ECI in its April 30 press release had shown a sharp increase (by about 5-6%) from the initial percentages announced by it on the polling day. ADR had said the delay in publishing the final voter turnout data, coupled with the unusually high revision (of over 5%) in the ECI press note of April 30 had raised “public suspicion and apprehensions” about the correctness of the data. “The difference of five to six per cent between initial and absolute voter turnout details is wrong,” Mr. Singh submitted. He said there were 8,336 candidates and 10.5 lakh polling booths. “Every candidate has polling agents, a total of over 87,000. Everyone is checking the process, keeping an eagle eye on the conduct. Imagination and supposition cannot be made weapons against the ECI,” Mr. Singh contended. In an editorial, The Hindu had pointed out that the integrity and the credibility of the ECI is central to the legitimacy of elections. “Reinforcing its independence should be a priority for all stakeholders in Indian democracy, particularly political parties and the judiciary. The [ECI is too important]( to be left to itself.” The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Welcome bounty: On the RBI’s ₹2.11-lakh-crore transfer to the Union government]( [Arrow][Southern sojourn: On the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in India]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz Haryana’s former Chief Minister Manohar Lal and his successor Nayab Singh Saini are seeking to win the Lok Sabha election and Assembly bypoll from this constituency, which is going to polls on May 25. which seat are they both contesting from? - Ambala City - Hisar - Gurgaon - Karnal To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here](. 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