The Election Commission of India (ECI) has refuted allegations of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) malfunctioning during a mock poll in Kerala's Kasaragod district. The ECI informed the Supreme Court that the reports of EVMs showing an extra vote were false.
The Supreme Court was hearing a batch of petitions seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). VVPAT is an independent vote verification system that allows voters to confirm whether their vote was cast correctly.
Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Nitesh Kumar Vyas informed the court that the ECI had verified the allegations with the district collector and found them to be false. The ECI will submit a detailed report to the court.
Earlier, advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner NGO 'Association for Democratic Reforms', had flagged the anomaly to the court. Bhushan cited reports of EVMs showing an extra vote during the mock poll exercise.
The Supreme Court asked senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the Election Commission, to look into the issue. The court will continue hearing the matter.