Court issues notice on EVM complaint
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 07, 2012:
Based on the public interest litigation (PIL) filed jointly by seven political parties questioning validity of using electronic voting machines in elections, the Gauhati High Court has served notices to the election Commission of India and Chief Electoral Officer, Manipur.
The notice to the ECI is said to have been addressed to its Secretary.
opposing use of EVMs on the ground that the gadget being used in the democratic exercise in India is susceptible to data tampering, seven political organisations namely Trinamool Congress, CPI, Janata Dal (United), BJP, NCP, CPI (M) and MPP filed the PIL in the Gauhati high Court double Bench, said convenor of the political coalition Dr M Nara while speaking to newspersons at Hotel imphal today.
Informing that 'motion hearing' on the PIL was already held on August 2, Dr Nara confided that the joint petition not only argued against use of EVMs in elections conducted in the State as unconstitutional but also proposed use of ballot papers like before.
Stating that success of the Congress party in the last Assembly election with such an overwhelming margin was unprecedented, he also did not rule out possibility of tampering data already entered in the EVMs.
According to the petitioners' counsel N Mahendra the court has fixed September 14 for a hearing on the matter.
He also conveyed that inspite of a representation to the ECI for forensic examination of the EVMs used during the 10th Manipur Legislative Assembly there is no response from the election authority till date.