The Supreme Court will hear on February 11, a petition seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to include the checking and verification of burnt memory of EVMs in their Standard Operating Procedures.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta ordered to list the matter for hearing on February 11 along with another similar case titled Karan Singh Dalal v. ECI seeking verification and checking of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in the 2024 Haryana elections.
Moved by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the miscellaneous application has been filed in the case ADR vs Election Commission, in which the Supreme Court delivered a verdict on April 26, 2024 with respect to EVM-VVPAT verification.
The petitioner contended that the Administrative and Technical Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) issued by the ECI on June 1, 2024, and July 16, 2024, lacked adequate guidelines for checking and verification of (1) burnt memory or microcontroller of EVMs and (2) Symbol Loading Unit (SLU).
Noting that the SOPs issued were in non-compliance with the 2024 decision in ADR v. ECI and Another, ADR argued that as per the SOPs issued, the ECI would conduct a mere diagnostic check of EVM units and conduct of a mock poll, without any checking and verification of the burnt memory or chip (or data contained therein) by manufacturers of EVM.
The petitioner said the role of engineers from BEL/ECIL in the verification exercise was to help conduct the mock poll and count the VVPAT slips generated in the mock poll.
In the absence of complying guidelines, it defeated the essence of the landmark decision, which intended to ensure that no malice or foul play was done during polling, the Association states, noted the plea.
The petitioner contended that the absence of any SoP for checking of burnt memory blatantly disregarded the directions passed by this Court. The wilful non-compliance by the ECI of the directions passed by this Court showed reluctance on part of the Commission, it added.
The post Supreme Court to hear ADR plea seeking verification of burnt memory of EVMs on February 11 appeared first on India Legal.