Can polling data be saved separately on hard disks, so that machines held as evidence are freed for the civic polls? The Calcutta High Court has asked the State Election Commission to say so on affidavit, as it examines the EVM, VVPAT Shortage ahead of municipal elections.
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Kolkata: On a plea by the West Bengal State Election Commission (SEC) to use machines held in administrative custody, the Calcutta High Court on October 12 directed it to file a specific affidavit on the shortage of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units ahead of the upcoming municipal elections.
Chief Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge and Justice Om Narayan Rai heard the plea as a Division Bench.
The question put to the Commission
The Bench asked for a detailed report on the shortage. It also wants the affidavit to clarify whether the polling data recorded in the EVMs and VVPAT machines held in custody can be stored separately on hard disks, and whether such a procedure would be legally permissible. If it can, the preserved machines could be released for the civic polls without affecting the pending election cases.
Why the Commission came to Court
The SEC found that it did not have enough EVMs for the civic elections. A number of machines sit in administrative custody because earlier court proceedings ordered EVMs to be preserved in connection with pending election-related cases, and the Commission sought permission to use them for the upcoming polls.
Its stock currently stands at 21,184 ballot units and 19,564 control units. Seven municipalities go to the polls in the first phase: Kolkata, Howrah, Bally, Haldia, Dhupguri, Kalimpong and Kurseong. Polling is tentatively expected towards the end of November, with the formal notification likely in the last week of October.
What turns on the answer
Machines preserved as evidence in election disputes cannot ordinarily be reused, because the recorded data may be needed when those cases are decided. The Court’s question is whether that evidence can be secured in another form, so that the machines can go back into use.
Whether the SEC has enough machines to hold the municipal elections on its proposed schedule will depend on that answer.
Case: Plea of the West Bengal State Election Commission on use of EVMs and VVPATs in administrative custody (case title and number not available)
Bench: Chief Justice Ravindra V. Ghuge and Justice Om Narayan Rai, Calcutta High Court
Date of Order: October 12, 2026
