Supreme Court Rejects Yet Another Congress Plea Against EVMs For Lok Sabha Elections

The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea requesting disclosure of the unique identity number of electronic voting machines (EVMs) for first level checking (FLC) in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, as reported by Indian Express.

The plea, which challenged the Delhi High Court's previous dismissal, was heard by a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud.

Anil Choudhary, chief of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, filed the petition.

During the proceedings, the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, observed that the petitioner had not participated in the FLC process despite being invited. The court expressed reluctance to intervene, as it could disrupt the election schedule.

Choudhary's legal team argued that the FLC process should conclude at least 90 days before the election, as per the rule. They claimed that while it had been completed for Delhi, Jharkhand, and Kerala, it had not yet commenced for other states.

Choudhary mentioned that in July, the Election Commission of India (ECI) had invited him to participate. However, he requested the unique identity numbers (UIN) of all the EVMs before the FLC process.

The ECI eventually provided the numbers after the FLC, but Choudhary had made the request earlier.

According to the counsel, no other political parties participated in the FLC, and only the Congress party expressed their willingness to join. There was no communication from any other party regarding their participation.

The Chief Justice of India suggested that the absence of other parties in the FLC might indicate their trust in the process's outcome, which could be viewed positively.

The counsel explained that EVMs are supplied by either the Electronics Corporation of India or Bharat Electronics, and they undergo a UIN preparation process before dispatch. The UIN of each machine is sent, along with the dispatch, to ensure proper identification and tracking.

Machines are received in Delhi's godowns without any knowledge of what transpired during transportation. The ECI does not cross-verify the numbers of machines sent with those received.

When asked for the dispatch list, they bring the machines to the FLC hall, expecting participation and UIN receipt at the end.

The Supreme Court bench emphasised that the Delhi High Court had thoroughly addressed the issue and that there is a detailed FLC procedure involving political parties. The absence of one political party does not cast doubt on the entire process.

The Chief Justice of India clarified that participation is allowed in the process for other states and emphasised the process's credibility and the trust it enjoys from political parties across India.

Consequently, the petition was dismissed as withdrawn.