Supreme Court to hear PIL challenging EC's decision to increase voter count per polling booth

New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on December 2 a PIL challenging the Election Commission's decision to increase the maximum number of voters per polling station from 1,200 to 1,500.

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar will take up the PIL filed by one Indu Prakash Singh, who has challenged two communications issued by the Election Commission in August 2024 increasing the number of voters per polling stations in each constituency across India.

Singh has contended that the decision to increase the number of voters per polling booth was arbitrary and not based on any data.

On October 24, the top court refused to issue any notice to the poll panel but allowed the petitioner to serve the copy to the standing counsel of the Election Commission so that its stand on the issue is known.

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the petitioner, contended that increasing the number of voters from 1,200 to 1,500 would lead to the exclusion of underprivileged groups from the electoral process as it will take a longer time for an individual to cast their franchise.

He had also submitted that longer queues at the polling station and longer waiting periods would dissuade voters from going to cast their votes.

The bench, however, said that the poll panel wants more and more people to vote and with the use of EVMs, it takes a shorter time compared to ballot papers.

It said that the poll panel is trying to reduce the time taken to cast votes as much as possible by increasing the number of EVMs at booths.

The petitioner has contended that the poll panel's decision would impact the voters during the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand (since concluded) and Bihar and Delhi to be held next year.

Singh said that elections are normally held for 11 hours and it takes around 60 to 90 seconds to cast one vote, and therefore 660 to 490 persons can cast their vote in a day at one polling station with one EVM.

Considering the average voting percentage to be 65.70 per cent, it is perceivable that a polling station prepared to accept 1,000 electors sees around 650 turn up.

Singh's petition said that there are also booths where the elector turnout is in the range of 85-90 per cent.

"In such a situation, about 20 per cent of voters will either end up standing in the queue beyond the voting hours or due to long waiting times, will abandon exercising their right to vote. Neither is acceptable in a progressive republic or a democracy," the PIL said.