A petition filed in the Supreme Court on May 10 raised concerns over the Election Commission’s delay in publishing the final voter turnout data for the Lok Sabha elections. The petition highlighted an “inordinate delay” and “unusually high revision” in the voter turnout figures after the first two phases of polling. Represented by advocates Prashant Bhushan, Neha Rathi, and Cheryl D’Souza, the Association for Democratic Reforms urged the court to direct the EC to disclose authenticated records of voter turnout.
Rule 49S and Rule 56C (2) of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 mandate the disclosure of the number of votes recorded in favor of each candidate. The petition also sought the publication of constituency and polling station-wise voter turnout figures in both absolute numbers and percentage form.