Preservation of each EVM’s data will cost Rs 40,000, ECI tells HC; don’t have that kind of money, says Bharti
The AAP leader had sought preservation of the data of the voting machines as he accused BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj of indulging in 'corrupt practices' during the Lok Sabha election this year
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The court of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora was specifically dealing with the issue of preservation of EVMs in Bharti’s election petition.
Preservation of each EVM’s data will cost Rs 40,000, the Election Commission of India (ECI) informed the Delhi High Court Wednesday during a hearing on a plea filed by AAP MLA Somnath Bharti challenging the election of BJP’s Bansuri Swaraj to the Lok Sabha earlier this year. When pointed out that with 1,490 such machines, the cost of preserving them would come to around Rs 6 crore, Bharti informed the court that he doesn’t “have that kind of money.”
In an election petition, Bharti, who had contested the LS polls against Swaraj from New Delhi constituency, had sought preservation of the data of EVM machines as he alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader had indulged in “corrupt practices” during the election.
The court of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora was specifically dealing with the issue of preservation of EVM data in Bharti’s election petition.
Confronted with the cost of the exercise, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Malviya Nagar suggested that the data can be dumped and preserved in a hard disc and as and when required during the election petition proceedings, the same data can be called for, he added.
The court, however, suggested that it is only dealing with the preservation of EVMs used in the election, adding it shall pass orders accordingly.
Bharti had also submitted that there was a mismatch in EVM and VVPAT votes during the elections. While Swaraj had polled 4.53 lakh votes, Bharti got around 3.74 lakh votes.
Bharti is seeking that the election to the New Delhi parliamentary constituency be declared void on the ground that Swaraj committed “corrupt practices”. He also sought that the BJP MP be disqualified from contesting any election for six years.
The ECI, in a notification on June 1, had issued the administrative standard operating procedure for checking and verification of burnt memory of EVM to be followed after announcement of results.
The same notification stipulated that the cost submitted by the manufacturers (BEL and ECIL) to carry out EVM checking and verification is Rs 40,000 plus GST at 18% per set of EVM which includes the ballot units, control unit, and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). The cost of the checking and verification are to be borne by the applicant candidate, it added.
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