The Election Commission inquiry committee, which probed the allegations of one VVPAT dispensing only slips of BJP symbol, has concluded that the machine is functioning accurately.
However, the committee has fixed responsibility for certain procedural lapses on the District Electoral Officer and the Returning Officer.
The EC had earlier said the VVPAT in question had been kept in reserve for the UP polls and there, it was tested for possible use. Before going through the same procedure in Bhind, the data fed into it during the previous round of tests had not been removed and this caused the confusion.
The EC committee has, therefore, prescribed a check-list for handling the operations of voting machines or VVPAT, which should be mandatorily adhered to by the electoral authorities. The entire process will be monitored online, it has been suggested.
Making public the findings, the Commission reiterated that there should be no room for laxity in handling the electoral matters and "least of all, such unwarranted remarks, as the sanctity of electoral process forms the foundation of India’s democracy".
The EC said the EVMs used in the demonstration in Bhind had not brought from UP.
"Bringing the VVPAT machines from UP is not in violation of law. As per law, only the EVMs used in the poll and the VVPAT slips contained in the box are required to be preserved for 45 days...for the purpose of Election Petition, if any," said the EC.
