Alka Verma-
Published on: September 9, 2021, at 16:53 IST
A three-Judge Bench of Supreme Court adjourned the hearing on a Plea regarding the use of Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines in future assembly polls.
The Plea was filed last week by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
It stated that the EVMs and VVPAT were unused and preserved because of an order extending the limitation period for filing Plea.
The Bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and A.S. Bopanna stated, “We have to consider all the matters and not only election petition. List the main matter Suo Motu petition next week.”
The Application titled In Re Cognizance for Extension of Limitation also sought directions to other States and Union Territories.
The Application was related to fix the timeline for filing elections petition.
In April 2021, Supreme Court relaxed the statutory period for filing petitions, including the election petitions, taking the consideration of 2nd wave of COVID.
“Resultantly, all the EVMs and VVPATs belonging to the Election Commission of India that were used in recently held Assembly Elections are blocked and cannot be used in future/upcoming elections.,” stated Election Commission (EC).
The ECI in his Plea stated that because of this Order, they are not able to use a good number of EVMs and VVPAT machines.
Further, they showed concern regarding the upcoming elections of Legislative Assemblies of Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in 2022 where they need EVMs and VVPAT to conduct it.
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