NEW DELHI, 26 April 2004 — The Supreme Court yesterday refused to stay the publication, telecast and broadcast of opinion and exit polls till the last phase of polling was over on May 10.
A three-judge bench headed by Jutice S. Rajendra Babu, however, issued notices to the Union of India, Election Commission and Press Council of India on a public interest litigation seeking ban on such polls till the last ballot was cast.
The court also issued notices to the TV news channels telecasting opinion and exit polls after Attorney General Soli J. Sorabjee requested that the news channels should also be impleaded as necessary parties in this matter.
The court asked the government and media to explain whether to end the exit polls which political leaders say unfairly influence voters in the staggered election process.
More exit polls were due out after the third round of voting closed yesterday.
A slew of results aired since the elections began have given an edge to the ruling Hindu fundamentalists but by a much tighter margin than pre-election surveys had forecast.
Leaders of all parties demanded a ban on exit polls at a pre-election meeting called by the autonomous Election Commission, arguing that surveys often go wrong and damage candidates’ prospects.
The government asked for the view of the attorney general who said polls cannot be banned by government order as it would encroach the “right to information”.
In his appeal to the court, petitioner D.K. Thakur said exit polls get major publicity, leading to “a deleterious effect and influence on the electorate when they are in the mental process of making up their minds”.
Pollsters rejected the argument, saying that voters should be able to know how the world’s largest election was progressing.
“Even if the exit polls influence voters, a voter has a right to information and to make an informed judgment at the time of voting,” said Yashwant Deshmukh whose C-Voter polling agency has tied up with the well-known Star News Hindi channel.
“If you are a voter or supporter of party A and if party A is losing in the first round, you would want to come out and vote for your party in the next round. So what’s wrong in this?” asked Deshmukh.
Deshmukh said that unlike pre-election surveys which have been inaccurate in the past, exit polls conducted by his and most other agencies “have never gone wrong”.
The margin of error in the exit polls is plus or minus three percent, he said.
The exit polls also mean big business with TV channels using hours of programming to rake up huge advertising revenue, media analysts said.
“It’s a huge money spinner but it’s also a legitimate exercise,” said Poonam Saxena, a television critic with the Hindustan Times newspaper.
“People have a right to know. We in India are heavily into politics. It is our favorite pastime. These surveys are a valid electoral excercise and they generate a lot of excitement. And if someone’s making money doing them, what’s wrong?”
