New Delhi: In a crucial development, the Supreme Court has posed several queries to the Election Commission (EC) regarding the cross-checking of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) data against Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) records.
The matter was brought before a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, following pleas filed by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms and others.
During the hearing, which took place on Wednesday, the bench raised several pertinent questions seeking clarification from the Election Commission. These queries included:
The location of the micro-controller, whether it is installed in the Control Unit or the VVPAT.
The nature of the micro-controller installed, particularly whether it is one-time programmable, implying it cannot be modified.
The number of Symbol Loading Units available.
Clarification on the discrepancy between the limitation period for filing an election petition (30 days) and the storage period for EVM data (45 days), as stipulated in Section 81 of the Representation of People Act.
The procedure for securing EVMs, specifically whether both the control unit and VVPAT bear seals.
Senior Advocate Santhosh Paul, representing one of the petitioners, also raised concerns regarding the disclosure of EVM source codes. However, Justice Khanna emphasized the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of the source code to prevent potential misuse.