[UP Polls] 'Allegations of result manipulation': Letter before Allahabad High Court to take suo moto cognizance of alleged EVM theft

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A letter petition has been filed before the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court and Senior Judge at Lucknow bench of the high court to take suo moto cognizance of the alleged stealing of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in Varanasi and other districts of Uttar Pradesh. The vote counting of the State Assembly Elections is scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 10.

Advocate Krishan Kanhaiya Pal, in his letter petition, also alleges that there are "also allegations of the leaders of the opposition parties that they have information from their reliable sources that the counting process will be slow down by the officers (who are involved in election counting process) on the dictate of ruling Bhartiya Janta Party government and higher Election Commission officers, to manipulate the results in favour of ruling Bhartiya Janta Party candidates."

Pal has sought Court's direction to the Chief Commissioners of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the State Election Commission of Uttar Pradesh to take action with regard to the violation of guidelines of ECI. 

Direction to take action to regulate the counting process of both, the postal ballot and EVM VVPAT, in accordance with the ECI guidelines, within a fixed scheduled time has also been sought by the lawyer.

The letter states that a video is doing rounds on social media showing that a truck carrying EVMs was intercepted in Varanasi on Tuesday just before the counting of the votes. 

"The District Magistrate, Varanasi said the EVMs were not the ones used for voting and are just being used for 'hands-on training', Some political parties i.e. Samajwadi Party and Sukhdev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) complained to the election commission, which has assured them for action (this information has been published by various media reports, like NDTV & others)," the letter reads. 

However, the letter adds that "the allegations of political parties are that EVMs cannot move from here to there without informing the candidate, if you have to move EVMs then at least candidates, who are contesting the election, it should be in their knowledge."

Adv. Pal further writes that after that the commissioner of Lucknow Division admitted the fact that the movement of EVM from here to there was wrong and against the guidelines of the Election Commission of India.

Therefore, the lawyer has urged the court to issue direction in the interest of a free and fair election process.