New Delhi [India], February 12: The story revolves around a recent development regarding the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in India’s elections. Congress MP Pramod Tiwari has expressed support for a Supreme Court ruling that directs the Election Commission of India to not erase or reload data during the verification process of EVMs. This decision is seen as crucial because Tiwari believes that preserving the data in its original state is important for uncovering the truth and facts about any disputes that may arise during the election process.
The case involves the verification of certain parts of EVMs, specifically the burnt memory and symbol loading units (SLUs), to ensure there has been no tampering or irregularity. The Supreme Court had previously issued a ruling stating that unsuccessful candidates could request verification of these components, but now, with a fresh petition filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the court is revisiting the Election Commission’s procedures for verifying these machines.
The ADR argued that the standard operating procedure (SOP) followed by the Election Commission didn’t align with a previous 2024 Supreme Court ruling on EVM-VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) cases, leading them to seek the court’s intervention. The ADR requested that the Election Commission be ordered to stop clearing or deleting the contents of the EVM’s burnt memory, especially in cases where the verification applications are still pending.
In response, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to file a detailed response within 15 days and explain its verification process. The court also stated that during the verification, no data should be erased or altered. The case will be heard again in the week beginning March 3, 2025.
This ruling follows the April 2024 judgment, which had previously upheld the use of EVMs, rejecting calls for a return to paper ballots, citing the security benefits of EVMs, which eliminate issues like booth capturing and bogus voting. However, the court did allow unsuccessful candidates to request verification of EVM components in a small percentage of machines.