Acting on a petition filed by the Congress, the Gujarat High Court on Monday issued notice to the Election Commission of India and the Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat over the issue of defective voting and VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) machines found during the first-level check before the Gujarat polls.
The Congress has sought that any defective machine must be banned.
A Division Bench of Justice Akil Kureshi and Justice A.J. Kogje issued notice to the respondents, asking them to respond by November 13.
In its petition, the Congress said that around 7% of the 70,182 VVPAT units that were found to be defective, along with defective EVMs and control units. They should be sealed and not used at any polling booth in the State.
The petitioner prayed for the court to direct the Commission set up an expert committee to look into the defective machines to avoid foul play.