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• The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 require the Election Commission to maintain two forms- Forms 17A and 17C. 
  • Form 17A records the details of every voter who enters a polling booth and casts their vote. 
  • Form 17C contains the total number of votes cast.
• The presiding officer has to provide a copy of the data entered in Form 17C to the polling agents of candidates at the time of the close of polling. 
• The data in Form 17C is used by candidates to verify the details provided during counting, such as the ID number of the EVM and the number of votes polled per polling station. 
• The candidates can challenge a result if there is a discrepancy between the data in Form 17C and the data emanating from the counting centre. 
• They can also file petitions in the high court challenging the election result on the basis of the mismatch between the counting data and the figures in Form 17C.