Hearing on EVM verification petition of former Haryana MLA fixed in January 2025

On Friday, the Supreme Court scheduled a hearing for January 2025 in a case filed by five-time MLA and former Haryana Cabinet Minister Karan Singh Dalal, who wants the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in the most recent Haryana Assembly Elections to be verified and checked.

A court chaired by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna heard the petition that Dalal and Lakhan Kumar Singla, a contestant in the Haryana elections, had filed.

CJI Khanna ordered that the petition be scheduled for hearing before Justice Datta in the week beginning January 20, 2025, after senior advocate Maninder Singh, speaking on behalf of the Election Commission of India, informed the bench that a similar plea had been filed before a bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and had been withdrawn.

Through attorney Aljo K. Joseph, Dalal has petitioned the Supreme Court for a policy for EVM verification and adherence to a previous ruling on the matter.

In their respective constituencies, Dalal and co-petitioner Lakhan Kumar Singla received the second-highest number of votes. They have asked the poll panel to establish a procedure for analyzing the original “burnt memory” or microcontroller of the four EVM components: the Control Unit, Ballot Unit, VVPAT, and Symbol Loading Unit.

In the recent Haryana assembly elections, the BJP won 48 of 90 assembly seats, bringing them back to power for the third consecutive time.

Earlier in April, a court made up of Justices Khanna and Datta issued a ruling dismissing the call to reinstate paper ballots.