The Supreme Court on Monday rejected to entertain a plea filed by Delhi Congress challenging the State Election Commission’s conduct in connection to the “First Level Checking” of EVMs and VVPATs ahead of the upcoming general elections.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra affirmed the Election Commission’s guidelines on the issue and stated that it wasn’t inclined to interfere with the Delhi High Court order in the matter. Last month, the Delhi High Court dismissed Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee’s (DPCC) Anil Kumar Kumar’s plea. Kumar approached the top court, challenging the order of the High Court. During the hearing, the CJI noted that the DPCC chose not to participate in the first-level checking, while other political parties actively took part. The apex court stated, “DPCC stayed away from the proceedings; all other political parties participated. Now interfering in this would delay the entire election schedule.” The bench said that for the court to enter into this now would completely delay the elections. “We don’t want to enter into this,” the bench stated, after which Kumar’s counsel withdrew the plea.
The CJI stated, “The process is very detailed; parties have faith in EVM, and it is replicated all across India.”
The petition alleged that the entire procedure followed for the commencement of FLC wasn’t transparent and was contrary to the directions of the Election Commission of India (ECI).