Supreme Court Considers EVM Verification Policy Plea

The Supreme Court is considering a plea to establish a policy for verifying electronic voting machines (EVMs). This comes after an April decision dismissing the reinstatement of paper ballots. The petition seeks compliance with a previous court ruling, urging the Election Commission to verify EVM microcontrollers in specific scenarios.

The Supreme Court is set to revisit a plea concerning the verification of electronic voting machines (EVMs). The plea calls for the establishment of a policy dedicated to EVM verification, following a prior ruling that refuted the reinstatement of traditional paper ballots, saying EVM manipulation fears were baseless.

The petitioners, including former Haryana minister Karan Singh Dalal and five-time MLA Lakhan Kumar Singla, are seeking the court's directive to ensure the Election Commission implements a protocol for examining the original microcontroller components of the EVMs. The Supreme Court has opened the possibility for candidates finishing second or third to request microcontroller verification.

The court's previous decision mandated a five percent EVM verification post-election, conducted by engineers. Petitioners argue that the existing procedures are inadequate, lacking comprehensive scrutiny of potential tampering, and insist the EC must adhere to the April judgment for an effective verification process.

(With inputs from agencies.)