Citing a 2019 Supreme Court judgment, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said that the voter list in machine-readable format cannot be shared with political parties.
He also said there was a difference between machine-readable and searchable formats.
Addressing a press conference here, Kumar said that the voter list available on its website can be searched using a voter card number and can also be downloaded.
He said the machine-readable format is barred as it can be edited and can lead to its misuse.
The Congress has been demanding the voter list in machine-readable format, saying it will help it flag flaws.
The CEC said that in 2019, the top court had sided with its stand that a machine-readable format cannot be shared as it could compromise voters’ privacy.
Officials pointed out that the issue was already raised by the Congress before the Supreme Court in a writ petition in 2018 filed by Kamal Nath, the then president of the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee.