In a judgment rendered on April 26, the top court had rejected a plea to tally every Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slip with votes cast through EVMs.

The top court had observed in that judgment that the procedures and safeguards put in place by the ECI were conducive to free and fair election.

However, in the PIL, Pracha sought to highlight various violations by the ECI by placing on record various violations of the Manual on Electronic Voting Machine, the Handbook for Presiding Officer and mishandling of the EVMs before and after polling.

The PIL also sought enforcement of laws, rules and protocols to be put in place to govern the conduct of elections through EVMs.

“The Petitioner has placed evidence in the form of various records, including videography, photographs, letters, documents, etc. which establish that the ECI has acted arbitrarily without adopting the required safeguards conducive to a free and fair election, and continuation of such arbitrary practices without the required safeguards will also adversely impact future elections in India,” the petition said.

Apart from seeking a detailed enquiry, Pracha said that the top court should periodically monitor the preparedness and conduct of future elections by the ECI.

The plea also sought appoint of an Ombudsman/Committee to oversee the functioning of the ECI with the power to hold members of the ECI accountable for any deviation from the established rules.