Supreme Court verdict tomorrow on 100% EVM-VVPAT verification

Mangalore Today News Network/NDTV

New Delhi, April 25, 2024: The Supreme Court will give its verdict tomorrow on petitions seeking 100 per cent verification of VVPATs with votes punched into electronic voting machines (EVMs).

The verdict will come on a day when voting on 88 seats in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections will be held.

 

A Bench of Justice Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Dipankar Dutta will give the verdict around 10.30 am.

The petitioners include the non-profit Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) and others.

During the hearing on the petitions on Wednesday, before the Supreme Court reserved its judgment, it had said the court cannot "control the elections" or issue directions simply because doubts have been raised about the efficacy of EVMs.

The clutch of petitions alleged the EVMs can be tinkered with to manipulate the results. The court, however, said it cannot change the thought process of those doubting the advantages of EVMs and calling for a return to ballot papers.

The Supreme Court sought answers from an officer of the Election Commission to five questions linked to the functioning of EVMs including whether the microcontrollers fitted in them are reprogrammable.

Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Nitesh Kumar Vyas, who had earlier made a presentation to the court on the functioning of EVMs, responded to the question about microcontrollers.

He said they are one-time programmable at the time of manufacture and installed in all the three units of EVMs - the balloting unit, Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs), and the control unit. They cannot be reprogrammed thereafter, he said.

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner ADR, alleged the EC official’s statement was not fully correct. He cited a report by a private body to back his contention.

"The report says that the kind of memory used in these three units can be reprogrammed. A malicious programme can easily be uploaded at the time of symbol loading," Mr Bhushan alleged, adding efforts should be made to remove doubts about the transparency of EVMs.