SC to EC: Clear apprehensions on totalisers

The Supreme Court on Monday has asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to reply to the Centre’s apprehensions that employing totalisers machines — that allows consolidated counting of votes polled in 14 booths — could lead to leakage of data from the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). At present, votes are counted at booth-by-booth, which leaves voters in a particular locality vulnerable to pre-poll intimidation and post-poll reprisal by political parties and candidates. A three-judge bench asked the poll body to file its reply in a week’s time.