Today(on 18th April),Supreme Court directs ECI to investigate EVM malfunction during mock polling in Kasaragod, Kerala, citing concerns over BJP vote discrepancies.
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NEW DELHI: Today(on 18th April), the Supreme Court of India issued instructions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations regarding malfunctioning Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). These allegations emerged during mock polling activities in Kasaragod, Kerala, where it was reported that votes were erroneously being recorded in favor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The directive was passed by a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta. The bench acted upon concerns brought to light by advocate Prashant Bhushan.
According to Bhushan, during a mock poll exercise in Kasaragod-
“Four Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) were registering an additional vote for the BJP.”
This issue was initially reported by Manorama, prompting Bhushan to raise it before the Supreme Court.
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Responding to these allegations, the Court instructed the ECI’s counsel-
“Mr. Maninder Singh, please verify this.”
This dialogue emphasized the Court’s commitment to ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the voting process, particularly in light of the technological interventions employed in recent times.
This directive is a series of petitions the Supreme Court has been deliberating upon. These petitions seek comprehensive directions for aligning votes cast through EVMs with Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips during electoral processes. Currently, the verification of VVPAT slips is restricted to five randomly selected EVMs in each assembly segment—a procedure that petitioners argue is insufficient for guaranteeing the accuracy of election outcomes.
One of the vocal petitioners, lawyer and activist Arun Kumar Agrawal, has been advocating for a more stringent verification process. Agrawal’s petition calls for a system where “each and every EVM vote should be tallied against VVPAT slips.”
Furthermore, Agrawal suggests an innovative approach to enhance voter confidence: allowing voters to physically deposit the VVPAT slips into a ballot box. This, he argues, would serve as a tangible confirmation that a voter’s ballot has been “counted as recorded.”
ALSO READ: SC To Hear Tallying EVM Votes with VVPAT Slips
The Supreme Court’s directive to the Election Commission to investigate these claims of EVM malfunction in Kerala’s mock polls is a testament to the judiciary’s proactive stance on safeguarding electoral integrity.
