New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice to the Central government and the Election Commission of India (EC) in a plea filed by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on alleged tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
“Technically, we agree that any technology can be tampered with but you have to have sufficient grounds for raising doubts,” the court said in an oral observation.
“The electronic voting machine itself was introduced to stop larger evils like booth capturing. This is a work in progress,” the court added.
BSP has sought mandatorily including a voter-verifiable paper audit trial (VVPAT) with all EVMs.
Senior advocate and Congress leader P. Chidambaram appearing for BSP said that the results of the recently concluded elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, is not questioned.
“The EC has written to the government at least 10 times since June 2014 seeking funds for procuring VVPAT,” Chidambaram said.
The Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party also sought to intervene in the case.
Congress pointed to the court that over 3 lakh VVPAT attachments are required all over the country which could cost the government over Rs3,000 crore.
The case will be heard next on 8 May.
