Aa bail mujhe maar: SC about ECI's Voter Turnout mobile app

The Supreme Court on Friday cited the Hindi proverb "aa bail mujhe maar" to explain the plight of the Election Commission of India (ECI) over a mobile application that it has launched to provide the public real-time estimated voter turnout data, despite the absence of any statutory obligation.

The 'Voter Turnout' mobile app, according to the ECI website, is designed to show the estimated voter turnout for each state, which can further be drilled down to Parliamentary and Assembly levels.

The remark was made when a vacation bench of justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma was hearing a plea for uploading booth-wise voter turnout data in "absolute numbers" on the ECI website during the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, within 48 hours of polling.

Justice Datta recalled that while hearing a plea by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which sought a direction for reverting to the old practice of using paper ballots in elections, the bench had asked the poll panel about the voter turnout app.

"I had specifically asked him (ECI counsel Maninder Singh) about the voter turnout app and whether there was any statutory requirement to upload data on a real-time basis. To which he (Singh) replied that there are no such statutory requirements and ECI is doing so for fairness and transparency," justice Datta said.

"That day I did not say anything in open court but today I am willing to say something. It is like 'aa bail mujhe maar (literally, inviting a bull to gore one)," he said, referring to the criticism the ECI is facing over its alleged reluctance to release complete voter turnout data promptly into the public domain.

Justice Datta was also part of the bench along with justice Khanna which rejected ADR's plea for going back to the ballot paper system on 26 April.

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, who was appearing for the NGO, said people have full faith in the ECI, which should not misunderstand them. "People are entitled to know. If we can point out something which can strengthen the election process, why should we be shut out? ECI has the wherewithal to give exact figures of Form 17C. It can be updated by adopting the latest technology. Estimated figures are causing some anxiety," he said.