CJI refers hearing of plea to another bench of SC

New Delhi : For the second time in a row, a bench, headed by (now) Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna, re-ferred to another bench the hearing of a plea filed by Congress leaders before the Supreme Court seeking verification of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used during the Haryana Assembly polls.

A bench of CJI Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar on Friday opined that the matter should be taken up for hearing by a bench headed by Justice Dipankar Datta in January next year.

Last week, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P.B. Varale opined that the plea seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to lay down a memorandum for the checking and verification of the original burnt memory/microcontroller of the four components of the EVM should be placed be-fore the same Bench which had passed directions on EVMs in April this year.

The Justice Nath-led Bench said that the fresh petition related to the interpretation and implementa-tion of the previous judgment of the apex court and therefore, the registry should place the papers before the CJI, who is the master of the roster, for passing appropriate orders as to whether the peti-tion should be listed before the previous Bench.

In order to strengthen the integrity of the election process in the country, a Bench of Justices Khanna (now CJI) and Datta, in April this year, had passed a direction for checking and verification of the burnt memory/microcontroller in 5 per cent of EVMs for any tampering or modification on a written request made by candidates securing second and third highest votes in an election.

The checking and verification exercise was directed to be undertaken by a team of engineers from the manufacturers of the EVMs, with the candidates and their representatives having the option to re-main present at the time of such an exercise, it said.

The latest petition filed by Karan Singh Dalal, a former 5-time Congress MLA, said that the ECI has not issued any procedure for checking and verification of the original burnt memory/microcontroller of the four components of the EVM (Control Unit, Ballot Unit, VVPAT and Symbol Loading Unit) in terms of the SC judgment.

The plea sought directions to the poll body to lay down a memorandum for checking and verification of the original burnt memory/microcontroller of the four components of the EVM (Control Unit, Ballot Unit, VVPAT and Symbol Loading Unit).

It further sought that the above exercise be undertaken within eight weeks and be made applicable to the EVM checking and verification forms dated October 14 submitted to the ECI.

The petition, filed through advocate Neha Rathi, said that the issue raised in the petition requires to be authoritatively decided by the apex court owing to significant public importance and ramifications across the country.

"The matter affects the functioning of the democracy in the country and elections being held across the country in various states, and therefore needs to be urgently and authoritatively decided," it said.

The absence of any procedure for verification of burnt memory for tampering shows reluctance on the part of the ECI to subject the original burnt memory microcontroller from any scrutiny whatsoever, the petition contended.