Supreme Court Bench Led by CJI Khanna to Address EVM Verification Petition Today
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New Delhi, Dec 20 (NationPress) A Supreme Court Bench, under the leadership of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, is scheduled to deliberate on a plea from Congress leaders on Friday, which seeks the verification of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) employed during the Haryana Assembly elections.
According to the cause list released on the apex court's website, a 2-judge Bench, which also includes Justice Sanjay Kumar, will review the plea that requests the Election Commission of India (ECI) to establish a memorandum for the examination and verification of the original burnt memory/microcontroller from the four components of the EVM.
Last week, a Bench consisting of Justices Vikram Nath and P.B. Varale indicated that this matter should be referred to the same Bench that issued directives regarding EVMs in April of this year.
The Justice Nath-led Bench remarked that the new petition pertains to the interpretation and execution of the previous ruling by the apex court, and thus, the registry should present the documents to the CJI, who is responsible for the roster, for appropriate orders regarding the listing of the petition before the earlier Bench.
To reinforce the integrity of the electoral process in the nation, a Bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna (currently CJI) and Dipankar Datta had issued a directive in April for the examination and verification of the burnt memory/microcontroller in 5 percent of EVMs to check for any tampering or modifications upon a written request from candidates finishing in second and third place during an election.
The apex court stated that this verification process should be conducted by a team of engineers from the EVM manufacturers, allowing candidates and their representatives the opportunity to be present during the examination.
The recent petition, submitted by Karan Singh Dalal, a former five-time MLA, asserts that the ECI has not established any procedure for checking and verifying the original burnt memory/microcontroller from the four components of the EVM (Control Unit, Ballot Unit, VVPAT, and Symbol Loading Unit) in accordance with the SC ruling.
The plea requests directives to the electoral body to create a memorandum for the examination and verification of the original burnt memory/microcontroller of the four EVM components (Control Unit, Ballot Unit, VVPAT, and Symbol Loading Unit).
It further demands that this verification be executed within eight weeks and be applicable to the EVM checking and verification forms submitted to the ECI on October 14.
The petition, presented through advocate Neha Rathi, argues that the issues raised necessitate an authoritative decision from the apex court due to their significant public importance and nationwide implications.
"The matter impacts the operation of democracy in the country and the elections being conducted across various states, thus requiring urgent and authoritative resolution," the petition stated.
The lack of a verification procedure for burnt memory against tampering indicates a reluctance from the ECI to allow any scrutiny of the original burnt memory microcontroller, the petition contended.
