EVM data case: SC may decide future of Indian electoral system in March
A former Haryana MLA moved SC to verify post-poll data of EVMs which have 10-year data storage facility; EC currently flouts SC orders by erasing post-poll data
Karan Singh Dalal is fighting the most important case of his life. Uphill as the task is, his petition before the Supreme Court will not only decide his fate but, arguably, the destinies of several others like him, mostly from the Opposition INDIA bloc. And indeed, as some can argue, the future of the Indian electoral system.
At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, a petition filed by Dalal, a five-time former Haryana MLA, before the apex court, has sought directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to lay down a policy for checking and verifying the original burnt memory or microcontroller of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Dalal, an ex-Haryana cabinet minister and Lakhan Kumar Singla, both Congress candidates who lost in the 2024 Haryana assembly elections, have sought verification and checking of EVMs used in the state elections, where the BJP emerged as surprise winners.
Erasing EVM data
Dalal told The Federal, “I am sorry to say that the EC is defying the apex court order and is hell bent on erasing EVM data, despite explicit orders of the court."
On February 11, the Supreme Court sought the Election Commission's (EC) response on the pleas seeking verification of the burnt memory and symbol loading units in EVMs in compliance with its judgement.
A special bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta had asked the poll panel to refrain from erasing or reloading data during the verification process.
The haste at which EVM data is being disposed of has raised the hackles of these former Congress MLAs. The control unit of the EVM can store the result in its memory for 10 years and even more. “Which is why, the EC getting rid of the data in such a tearing hurry raises suspicions,” Dalal pointed out.
The pleas sought a direction to the poll panel to check and verify burnt memory/micro-controllers and the symbol loading unit (SLU) of EVMs.
Also read: ‘No mismatch between VVPAT slips and EVM numbers’: Maharashtra’s chief electoral officer
SC issues notice to poll panel
Irked over suppressing the fact relating to a similar petition which was dismissed as withdrawn, the bench said it would not hear a fresh plea filed by Dalal seeking a policy for the verification of EVMs. It issued notices to the poll panel on the interim application filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The bench asked the poll panel to explain the procedure adopted and posted the matter in the week commencing March 3.
The top court, in its judgment of April 26 last year, rejected the demand for reverting to the old paper ballot system, saying the polling devices were "secured" and eliminated booth capturing and bogus voting.
It, however, opened a window for aggrieved unsuccessful candidates securing second and third places in poll results and allowed them to seek verification of microcontroller chips embedded in 5 per cent EVMs per assembly constituency on a written request upon payment of a fee to the poll panel.
The top court directed that from May 1, last year, the symbol loading units should be sealed and secured in a container and stored in a strong room along with the EVMs for a minimum of 45 days post-declaration of results.
ADR files fresh plea
ADR in a fresh plea, said the standard operating procedure (SOP) of the poll panel for verification of the EVMs was not in accordance with the 2024 judgement passed on its petition in the EVM-VVPAT case.
The court then asked the poll panel on the erasure and reloading of polling data. The bench said the judgement did not mandate such actions but merely required verification of the EVMs by an engineer of the manufacturing company.
"What we intended was that, if after the polls somebody asks, the engineer should come and certify that, according to him, in their presence, there is no tampering in any of the burnt memory or microchips. That's all. Why do you erase the data?” the court asked.
Dalal is candid on the matter. “I cannot say anything at this stage because the EC is too powerful now. Let us wait and see what excuse they have up their sleeves before the apex court at the next hearing.”
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing ADR, said the SOP on EVM verification was insufficient as per the court's ruling. "What we want is for someone to examine the software and hardware of the EVMs to see whether they contain any element of manipulation," he told the court.
ADR had in December 2024, sought compliance requiring verification of the "burnt memory" and microcontrollers of EVMs to ensure their integrity and security. It underscored the need to verify the symbol loading unit, a critical component of the EVM infrastructure, to maintain transparency in the electoral process.
The top court was told that engineers of BEL (Bharat Electronics Limited) had loaded dummy symbols and data in the EVMs, and data of the original machine was cleared. The ADR petition has also demanded that the burnt memory and microcontroller of EVM be verified by engineers to prove that the machine has not been tampered with.
Also read: After poll setbacks, Congress wants EVMs to be junked, wants ballot papers back
Probing EVMs used in Maharashtra polls
Clearly, this is an issue that has the potential to snowball. Already, its impact can be felt in politically crucial Maharashtra, which is following on the heels of Haryana. Of the record 100 plus EVM-VVPAT burnt memory related applications filed following the November 2024 Maharashtra polls, at least 50 per cent are learnt to be caught in election petitions, several of them filed by the INDIA members.
The INDIA bloc has claimed that nearly 63 such applications had been filed in the Bombay high court alleging electoral malpractices or manipulation in the Maharashtra assembly polls.
Several of these have reportedly been filed on January 7 – the deadline for filing such petitions. With applications now coming in the way, the EVM/VVPAT memory Checking & Verification (C&V) process is currently being initiated only for around 50 C&V applications filed by second and third losers in the assembly elections.
However, it would be interesting to note, according to some media reports that the C&V process, which was successfully completed in Sirsa, Haryana, on January 9, found no discrepancies. Neither were irregularities found in any of the eight and three C&V applications filed in Lok Sabha polls and Odisha/Andhra Pradesh assembly polls either, the reports indicated.
Also read: Explainer: How is the Indian EVM different from its US cousins?
Mock poll
Jagdeep Chokkar of ADR, however, remained deeply sceptical. “I know for sure that what they did at Sirsa were mock polls. The original data from EVMs were deleted and assumed names and data were added. This is precisely what the Supreme Court had warned against,” he told The Federal.
In 2024, after the Lok Sabha elections, the EC was set to introduce a mock poll protocol as part of the verification process for EVMs used, according to which, candidates will be allowed to cast up to 1,400 votes on the machines selected for verification.
During the mock poll, candidates could cast votes themselves or appoint representatives. Additionally, candidates may arrange the three parts of the EVM — the Control Unit, Ballot Unit, and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail Unit (VVPAT) — in any sequence without affecting the machine’s functionality. The matching of VVPAT slips with the EVM count will also be part of this process.
Eyebrows were also raised over the cost of verification set by the EC after being informed that ₹40,000 was charged for verifying one EVM.
The coming March may turn out to be an important month for EVMs, and more crucially, for the post-poll data that the machines contain.
