Writing his views in a separate verdict while concurring with the opinion of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who was heading the bench, Justice Datta said the question of reverting to "paper ballot system", on facts and in the circumstances, does not and cannot arise.
He, however, did not give any date for the proposed challenge which he announced in his opening remarks at the meeting.
As Delhi voters cast their ballots for the assembly polls on Wednesday, allegations of fake voting emerged in some parts of the national capital, including Seelampur and Kasturba Nagar.
'To attribute motives to the individual election commissioner or the Election Commission as a group is very unfair.'
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called for tough decisions and unity within the party after the Congress suffered electoral defeats in Maharashtra and Haryana. In a meeting with top party leaders, Kharge highlighted the need to strengthen the organization from the grassroots, fix accountability, and address internal bickering. He also urged leaders to remain united and avoid public criticism of each other. The Congress chief expressed concern over the party's performance in state elections despite a strong showing in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year. He acknowledged the need to learn from the setbacks and improve the party's strategy and communication to counter its rivals' propaganda.
Opposition members trooped into the Well of the House calling the government a "cheat".
The Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce its verdict on Friday on a batch of pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using electronic voting machines (EVMs) with voter verifiable paper audit trail, or VVPAT.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of attempting to "steal" votes and said exit polls were meant to create a perception that the saffron party will emerge victorious in the Uttar Pradesh election.
'There is a difference between a politician and leader.' 'A politician will have his pound of flesh first and do everything else later.' 'A leader will sacrifice everything to help people.'
'They refuse to be transparent. They refuse to be accountable.'
'For politicians, winning the next election has become more important than economic stability of the country and broader national interest.'
The Delhi CM said that the people of India won't forgive the Election Commission and the BJP for manipulating the Constitution.
Justice Khanna, who will serve as CJI for a little over six months, will demit office on May 13, 2025.
Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa speaks to Satya Dosapati, an official of Save Indian Democracy, the organisation which exposed the fraud, who says that the EC's decision is alarming.
The poll panel said it did not receive specific complaints or concrete material from political parties and candidates about alleged tampering of EVMs during recently held election process.
The Congress leader said he believes that democracy is derailed and "we are becoming too authoritarian". "It's all about one-man show," he said.
The challenge would be held in the first week of May and could continue for ten days.
The Congress said the ECI finally released the voter turnout data late last night after a completely unacceptable delay of 11 days for Phase I and 4 days for Phase 2.
The Election Commission on Tuesday asserted that EVMs used in the Lok Sabha polls are "absolutely safe" in strong rooms, dismissing allegations that the voting machines used in the elections were being switched with fresh ones ahead of counting of votes on May 23.
'Money power was deployed like an army in a war.' 'None of the MVA parties had that kind of money.'
Whatever happens with this election, there is going to have to be a serious rethink of how the ECI, and elections, are run in India. There can't even be the whiff of impropriety. In a country that believes in democracy, EVM rigging isn't stealing an election, it's stealing the soul of a nation, says Cleo Paskal.
'I know most of the politicians in this country and I know how fair-weather friends they can be.' 'If they get defeated in elections, they will blame it upon something that cannot respond to their allegations like the EVMs.'
Former Union law and commerce minister Subramaniam Swamy has written a letter to the Election Commission, demanding a paper trail to 'substantiate and verify the election results' obtained from Electronic Voting Machines.In his letter, Swamy has argued that it is possible to manipulate the EVMs, by planting a software programme that could produce an election result in favour of a particular candidate.
'Although the Election Commission remains convinced about the EVM's integrity, as a fair umpire of the game it was necessary to travel the last mile to convince political players that the entire process was not only fair but transparently so.' A fascinating excerpt from former Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla's new book, Excerpted from Every Vote Counts: The Story Of India's Elections.
The action was taken upon a plea filed by Congress Vikasnagar runner-up candidate Navprabhat on alleged tampering of electronic voting machines.
The EC again rubbished the Aam Aadmi Party's claim that EVMs could be tampered with
The AAP has announced that it will hold a parallel hackathon of its own.
'We do not think the EC is doing enough to address issue of EVM malfunctioning'
Rediff.com has highlighted many stories about the controversy surrounding the EVMs and the growing opposition to their usage. In a letter to rediff.com, a representative of Election commissioner Dr S Y Quraishi's office has clarified the EC's position over the matter, which is threatening to blow up into a major issue of national concern.
Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who has been part of several landmark Supreme Court judgements such as scrapping the electoral bonds scheme and upholding abrogation of Article 370, will be sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India on Monday.
'Rather than criticising the kind of candidates fielded by political parties from our living rooms, NOTA in a sense implores the electorate to say this by turning up in person at a polling booth to ensure their protest is registered.'
...'hum decide karenge kaun banega mukhyamantri. This decision is not to be taken in Mumbai.'
The arrest of Hari K Prasad, who recently proved that Electronic Voting Machines can be hacked into and stolen, has shocked many.
Political parties and leaders wait with bated breath for the Haryana and Jammu-Kashmir assembly poll results on Tuesday.
'EVMs did not accept votes polled for any party other than BJP'. The BSP chief said that the results in UP and Uttarakhand were surprising and not palatable to anyone.
Till date, 107 elections to states and three parliamentary polls have been smoothly conducted using the EVMs.
Mishra accused Kejriwal of accepting Rs 2 crore from health minister Satyendar Jain.
It would be far more sensible for AAP to build on what they have achieved than to destroy what credibility they have by floating wild conspiracy theories, says Sankrant Sanu.
Chidambaram told SC that to assure accuracy in the voting process, paper trail is needed as there were chances of tampering with EVMs.
'They can't be tampered with because of the very nature of the machines -- they are standalone, and not networked.' 'Also, they can't be rigged because of the kind of custodial security they are subjected to during the election process.'
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