NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the Election Commission of India on pleas of Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Sachin Pilot alleging duplication of voters in the voters' list in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan issued a notice to the poll panel and the state election commission of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and slated the hearing for August 31.
During the hearing, senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Nath and Pilot, said that they had themselves conducted a survey on their cost in both the states and in Madhya Pradesh they found that there were over 60 lakh duplicate voters in the list and said there was a similar situation in Rajasthan where large numbers of duplicate voters have been found.
"Similar is the case of Rajasthan with regard to duplication of voters where there are over 41 lakh duplicate voters. They have added 71 lakh new voters. Directions should be given to remove the inconsistencies and conduct free and fair elections," he said.
In his plea, Nath has also sought random verification of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines in the upcoming MP assembly polls. The plea also alleged various lapses in transferring of machines before and after the polls and pointed out an incident of May 29 this year after the bye-polls at Palghar Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra when two election officers were caught transporting EVMs in a private car.
"No clear instructions regarding and secured transportation of EVMs before and after polling has been prescribed till date. Without a protocol and standard procedure for the same, such incidents can vitiate the entire process of elections," the petition stated