The Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted Election Commission of India's proposal for Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and Electronic Corp of India Limited to examine and certify there was no tampering of burnt memory and software of EVMs in case of disputes.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta was hearing pleas for the verification of the burnt memory and symbol loading units (SLU) in EVMs in compliance with its judgement.

The poll panel in its affidavit said it wouldn't erase the data on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for which the candidates sought the verification.

NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, in its plea, alleged the standard operating procedure (SOP) framed by the poll panel for verification of the EVMs was not in accordance with the April 2024 judgment in the EVM-VVPAT case.

The bench on Wednesday took note of the poll panel’s proposal to amend the technical SOP and said, “The engineers of BEL and the Electronic Corp of India Limited will also issue a certificate that they are satisfied that the burnt memory and software (of the EVMs) have not been tampered with and their integrity is maintained.”

The CJI, in the order, said if a candidate wanted a mock poll, the poll panel could do it.

The bench had previously asked the election commission to refrain from erasing or reloading data during the verification process.

The pleas sought a direction to the poll panel to check and verify burnt memory or micro-controllers and SLUs of the EVMs.

The top court in its April 26 2024 verdict rejected the demand for reverting to the old paper ballot system, saying the polling devices were "secured" and eliminated booth capturing and bogus voting.

It, however, opened a window for aggrieved unsuccessful candidates securing second and third places in poll results and allowed them to seek verification of micro-controller chips embedded in 5 per cent EVMs per assembly constituency on a written request upon payment of a fee to the poll panel.

The top court directed that from May 1, last year, the SLUs should be sealed and secured in a container and stored in a strongroom along with the EVMs for a minimum of 45 days post-declaration of results.

The bench said the judgement did not mandate such actions but merely required verification of the EVMs by an engineer of the manufacturing company.

“What we intended was that, if after the polls somebody asks, the engineer should come and certify that, according to him, in their presence, there is no tampering in any of the burnt memory or microchips. That’s all. Why do you erase the data?” the CJI had asked.

He added, "We didn’t want such a detailed process that you reload something. Do not erase the data, do not reload the data — all you need to do is have someone verify and examine.”

The NGO on December 23 last year filed the plea in a decided case for directions to the poll panel to ensure a strict compliance of the judgement.

The miscellaneous application stemmed from the April 26, 2024 judgment in which the top court laid down specific protocols for the checking and verification of EVM components, including their memory systems and symbol loading units.

The plea sought compliance with the court's judgment requiring verification of the "burnt memory" and microcontrollers of EVMs to ensure their integrity and security.

It underscored the need to verify the symbol loading unit, a critical component of the EVM infrastructure, to maintain transparency in the electoral process.

The plea urged the court to direct the EC to refrain from clearing or deleting the contents of the original burnt memory of EVMs, particularly in cases where verification applications were pending.