EVM Verification Debate Reopened: Supreme Court Sets Hearing for January 2025

The Supreme Court will review a plea in January 2025 seeking a new policy for electronic voting machine verification. The petition by Karan Singh Dalal and Lakhan Kumar Singla aims at enforcing an April ruling that mandates EVM inspection. The plea challenges the Election Commission's current procedures.

The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it will hear a plea addressing the verification policy for electronic voting machines (EVM) in January 2025. This decision comes as a fresh petition, submitted by former Haryana minister Karan Singh Dalal and Lakhan Kumar Singla, calls for compliance with a previous court ruling requiring EVM inspection.

Earlier Supreme Court rulings labeled suspicions of EVM tampering as 'unfounded.' However, candidates who placed second and third in the elections can now request verification of the devices' microcontroller chips under certain conditions. Dalal and Singla claim the Election Commission has not issued a comprehensive verification policy.

Despite these motions, the BJP secured 48 out of 90 seats in recent Haryana elections. The pending plea does not dispute the election results but insists on a more robust EVM verification protocol. Separate election-related petitions are underway in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

(With inputs from agencies.)