3Photo© timesofindia.indiatimes.com'No legal mandate to make final turnout data of all booths public'
The Election Commission on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that there was no legal mandate to publicise Form 17C, which contains a record of votes recorded in an Electronic Voting Machine, and that the document could only be given to candidates or their agents.
The court was hearing a petition by non-governmental organisation Association for Democratic Reforms, seeking that the Election Commission be directed to immediately release absolute voter turnout numbers. The plea was filed after there was a delay in publishing this data after the first two phases of polling.
The plea has demanded that the poll panel should disclose authenticated records of voter turnout by uploading scanned legible copies of Form 17C of all polling stations after each phase of polling in the General Elections 2024 on the Election Commission’s website.