‘Don’t delete or reload EVM data’: Supreme Court bench- led by Chief Justice of India Sanjeev Khanna tells Election Commission

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the Election Commission of India’s response on the pleas searching for verification of the burnt memory and image loading devices in EVMs in compliance of its judgement. A specific bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta requested the pollpanel to chorus from erasing or reloading data right by technique of the verification job.

The pleas sought a direction to the pollpanel to test and test burnt memory/micro-controllers and the logo loading unit (SLU) of digital vote casting machines (EVM). The bench requested the pollpanel to file its response internal 15 days and relate the job adopted and posted the matter in the week taking off March 3.

Irked over suppression of the fact with regards to a identical petition which used to be dismissed as withdrawn, the bench said it wouldn't hear a recent plea filed by old Haryana minister and five-time MLA Karan Singh Dalal searching for a coverage for the verification of EVMs.

The bench issued notices to the pollpanel on the period in-between utility filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and a losing candidate Sarv Mitter, represented by senior advocate Devadatt Kamat.

The highest court docket, in its judgement of April 26, closing three hundred and sixty five days, rejected the query for reverting to the feeble paper pollgadget, asserting the polling devices were “secured” and eradicated booth taking pictures and bogus vote casting.

It, on the opposite hand, opened a window for aggrieved unsuccessful candidates securing 2d and third locations in polloutcomes and allowed them to observe verification of micro-controller chips embedded in 5 per cent EVMs per assembly constituency on a written inquire of of upon rate of a rate to the pollpanel.

The highest court docket directed that from May 1, closing three hundred and sixty five days, the logo loading devices needs to be sealed and secured in a container and saved in a strongroom along with the EVMs for as a minimum 45 days put up-declaration of outcomes.

ADR in a recent plea, said the frequent working job of the pollpanel for verification of the EVMs used to be not based on the 2024 judgement passed on its petition in the EVM-VVPAT case. On Tuesday, the bench requested the pollpanel on the erasure and reloading of polling data.

The bench said the judgement didn't mandate such actions nonetheless merely required verification of the EVMs by an engineer of the manufacturing company.

“What we supposed used to be that, if after the polls any individual asks, the engineer should reach and certify that, based on him, in their presence, there's no tampering in any of the burnt memory or microchips. That’s all. Why influence you erase the records?” requested the CJI. He went on, “We didn’t want such an intensive job that you reload something. Close not erase the records, influence not reload the records — all you settle on to have an effect on is luxuriate in any individual test and take a look at.”

The bench moreover raised concerns over the label of verification dwelling by the EC after being told that Rs 40,000 used to be charged for verifying one EVM.

“Decrease the label of 40,000 — that’s too high,” it said.

Looking out out for the pollpanel’s response, the bench recorded its assurance that no modification or correction of EVM data would occur right by technique of the verification job.

“Mr Singh (ECI counsel) states that they are going to clarify the distance by filing a rapid affidavit explaining the job adopted by them. He moreover states they received’t be doing any modification/correction of the records,” it said.

Recommend Prashant Bhushan, representing ADR, said the SOP on EVM verification used to be insufficient as per the court docket’s ruling.

“What we want is for any individual to test out the machine and hardware of the EVMs to belief whether or not they luxuriate in any component of manipulation,” he said. The NGO on December 23 closing three hundred and sixty five days filed the plea in a determined case for instructions to the pollpanel to originate sure that a strict compliance of the judgement.

The miscellaneous utility stemmed from the April 26, 2024 judgment in which the discontinue court docket laid down specific protocols for the checking and verification of EVM parts, including their memory programs and image loading devices.

The plea sought compliance with the court docket’s judgment requiring verification of the “burnt memory” and microcontrollers of EVMs to originate sure that their integrity and security. It underscored the must test the logo loading unit, a crucial remark of the EVM infrastructure, to withhold transparency in the electoral job. The plea told the court docket to pronounce the EC to chorus from clearing or deleting the contents of the distinctive burnt memory of EVMs, specifically in situations where verification applications were pending.