Which rule under the ‘Conduct of Elections Rules’ lists out a six-month jail term and a Rs 1000 fine for falsely reporting malfunctioning of EVMs and VVPATs?
The Supreme Court on April 29, 2019 sought a response from the Election Commission on a plea seeking abolition of a provision in election rules that provides for prosecution of an elector if a complaint alleging malfunctioning of EVMs and VVPATs turns out to be false. A three-judge bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi took note of the plea, which alleged that Rule 49MA of ‘The Conduct of Elections Rules’ was unconstitutional as it criminalises reporting of malfunctioning of Electronic Voting Machines and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails.
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