The Central Information Commission (CIC) has strongly criticized the Election Commission (EC) for its failure to respond to an RTI request regarding the action taken on a “representation” submitted by prominent citizens. This representation raised concerns about the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines used in elections.
Terming it a “gross violation” of the law, the CIC directed the EC to submit a written explanation.
MG Devasahayam, a former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and one of the signatories to the representation concerning the credibility of electronic voting machines (EVMs), voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT), and the vote-counting process, submitted an application to the poll panel under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking details on the action taken on it.
The representation was sent to the EC on May 2, 2022.
In his RTI application filed on November 22, 2022, Devasahayam sought information regarding the recipients of the representation, any meetings conducted on the matter, and all relevant file notations. Despite the mandatory 30-day period for response, the Election Commission (EC) did not provide any reply. Even Devasahayam’s initial appeal to senior officials went unanswered. Faced with this silence, he escalated the matter to the Central Information Commission (CIC) in his second appeal, highlighting the EC’s failure to respond.
When questioned by Chief Information Commissioner Heeralal Samariya, the central public information officer of the Election Commission failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the lack of response to Devasahayam.
“Commission, after perusal of case records and submissions made during hearing, expresses severe displeasure over the conduct of the then PIO in not having provided any reply to the RTI application within the time-frame stipulated under the RTI Act. Therefore, commission directs the then PIO through the present PIO to furnish a written explanation for the gross violation of the provisions of the RTI,” Samariya said.
He instructed that if others were also accountable for the oversight, the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) must serve them a copy of the order and ensure their written submissions are forwarded to the CIC. Samariya also directed the Election Commission to furnish a detailed point-wise response to the RTI application within 30 days.
The concerns regarding the credibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines were raised by a notable group of technical professionals and academicians, including professors from prestigious institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), as well as retired civil servants, including former Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers.
“Through this memorandum, we, a representative group of concerned civil society members, including technical professionals, academicians and former civil servants, would like to place certain posers before the ECI that have a bearing on the very survival of India as an electoral democracy. And we would expect an urgent response to each from the ECI,” the letter dated May 2, 2022 read.