look news india
The Supreme Court's decision on the issue of electronic voting machines has come amid voting for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections in the country on 26 April. The court rejected all pleas seeking 100 per cent verification of votes from electronic voting machines (EVMs) through Water Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips. The Supreme Court says that it has given two orders. Before or after the cymbal loading process is completed, cymbal loading units should be sealed and stored for a minimum of 45 days.
Another order is that candidates will have the option to get the microcontroller programs of the EVMs checked by a team of engineers after the declaration of election results. For this the candidate will have to request within 7 days of the declaration of election results. VVPAT is an independent vote verification system, which enables voters to see whether their vote has been cast correctly or not.
Supreme Court asked some questions on 24 April
On April 24, the Supreme Court sought clarification from the Election Commission on certain issues related to the functioning of electronic voting machines and also summoned a senior official of the election panel at 2 pm. Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Dutta reserved their judgment on the plea seeking 100 per cent cross-checking of votes cast by EVMs with VVPATs. Supreme Court asked these questions to the Election Commission…
1. Does the control unit or VVPAT have a microcontroller?
2. Is a microcontroller suitable for onetime programming?
3. How many symbol loading units are available with the Election Commission?
4. The time period for submission of election petition is accordingly 30 days and thus the storage and records will be maintained for 45 days. But the limit day is 45 days, you have to fix it.