New Delhi: A petition related to the Election Commission was heard in the Supreme Court amidst the Lok Sabha elections. The petition demands the release of booth wise voting data. The Supreme Court kept the matter pending on Friday and refused to intervene. ADR and others have demanded that the voting data be published within 48 hours of the end of voting. The Election Commission opposed this demand in the Supreme Court. The Election Commission even demanded a fine on the petitioners. At the same time, the judge of the vacation bench of the Supreme Court questioned the timing of the petition. Justice Dipankar Dutt also asked some tough questions.
In fact, Maninder Singh appeared on behalf of the Election Commission in the Supreme Court. Maninder Singh opposed the petition. He said that this is a classic case of misuse of the process of law. Elections are going on and they are filing such petitions repeatedly. Maninder demanded from the court that a heavy fine be imposed on the petitioners. He said that such an attitude is always harming public interest by questioning the purity of elections. Fake allegations are being made on the basis of mere apprehensions. Whereas the Supreme Court had clarified all the aspects in its recent decision.
Argument of Election Commission
On behalf of the Election Commission, Maninder Singh further said that during the Lok Sabha elections, continuous efforts are being made to defame the Commission. Form 17C is kept in the strong room. It has been alleged that there is a difference of 5 to 6 percent in the final data. This allegation is completely false. The elections are going on and the Commission is being continuously defamed. After this, the Supreme Court asked some sharp questions to the ADR lawyer.
Will booth wise voting data be released? EC told SC- impose fine on petitioners, the judge also asked tough questions
The Supreme Court also asked questions
The Supreme Court raised questions on the timing of filing the petition. Justice Dipankar Dutta asked the petitioner’s lawyer Dushyant Dave why this petition was filed in the Supreme Court after the election process began? Justice Dipankar Dutta, while addressing ADR’s lawyer Dushyant Dave, said, ‘We see many types of PILs. Some are in public interest. Some are in money interest. But we can tell you that you have not filed this petition at the right time and with the right demand.
Whose petition, what demands?
ADR i.e. Association for Democratic Reforms has filed this PIL. The petition alleges manipulation of voting data. It says that the data was released several days after the polling. The data for the first phase was released 11 days after the polling and for the second phase 4 days later. It was also claimed that there is a difference of about 5% between the initial data and the final data. However, the Election Commission has rejected these allegations in the Supreme Court.
Tags: Election commission, Lok Sabha Election 2024, Lok Sabha Elections, Supreme Court
FIRST PUBLISHED : May 24, 2024, 12:53 IST