New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Election Commission seeking a response over allegations regarding tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the recently held Assembly elections in five states.
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, however, refused to issue notice to the CBI as demanded by petitioner advocate ML Sharma, who alleged that EVMs used by the Commission could be easily tampered with.
Sharma in his petition claimed that the recently concluded elections in the five states were allegedly tampered with in these Electronic Voting Machines and these machines should be checked thoroughly
He further claimed that American computer scientists should investigate the alleged tampering of EVMs
The Supreme Court, however, at this stage refused to pass any order for a CBI inquiry.
After tasting defeat at the hustings, BSP chief Mayawati and AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had alleged that EVMs were tampered with. The AAP had demanded that the MCD polls be conducted through ballot papers. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also demanded that the Election Commission should hold an all-party meeting to discuss the issue.
EVMs were introduced in India in 1999 by the Election Commission and now they have replaced ballot papers in Lok Sabha, Assembly and local body polls across the country. The Election Commission has consistently maintained that EVMs are tamper-proof. But the Commission has decided to introduce EVMs with voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) system. The VVPAT system was introduced in eight of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies as a pilot project in 2014 elections.
The petitioner has demanded examination of the “quality, software/malware and hacking effect in the EVMs from a reliable electronic lab/scientist and software expert and to file their report before this court for further action/prosecution”.
Referring to allegations of EVM tampering in the recent Assembly polls in five states and Maharashtra civic polls, Sharma contended it was admitted by the Election Commission itself that EVMs were tamper-proof only until their technical, mechanical and software details remain a secret.
“These details can be detected via reverse engineering by any expert. Wireless device/software can be prepared via reverse engineering, and with their help voting records can be changed in any location and at any time,” the petitioner said.