New Delhi, March 6 -- The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently told the Supreme Court that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) cannot be opened for carrying out the checking and verification of its securely embedded micro controller as doing so will render the device unusable.

Facing criticism in the top court over its July 2024 standard operating procedure (SOP) which allows candidates to test the functional integrity of the EVMs by tallying the votes polled randomly over any chosen machines with the VVPAT slips and not examine the burnt memory or microprocessor, the EC said, "No machine can be opened to access the burnt memory or microcontroller as the burnt memory or microcontroller is inside the secured module."

Responding to...