Overview
- BEL engineers began a two-day inspection on Thursday in Borivali East to run a court-ordered diagnostic check on 20 EVMs and VVPATs from the 2024 Chandivali race.
- Election officials say Naseem Khan chose the Supreme Court’s ‘diagnostic check’ option, which they describe as linking the Control Unit, Ballot Unit and VVPAT to confirm the machines are ready for polling.
- Khan argues the team must follow the Supreme Court’s May 7, 2025 directions, including an engineer’s certification on the burnt memory and microcontroller and access to Symbol Loading Unit data and real-time clock records.
- The exercise halted after disagreements over standard operating procedures, with Khan submitting a representation to the ECI and warning he will move the Supreme Court if a fuller verification or a mock poll is not allowed.
- Officials say a mock poll, which can show or load candidate data on the Symbol Loading Unit, could proceed if approved, and the 20 machines inspected reflect the 5% cap the Court set for post-poll checks in a constituency.