New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday sought an hourly hearing on its petition in the apex court alleging that EVM and VVPAT machines used in assembly elections in six states were lying idle. A bench headed by Chief Justice (CJI) NV Ramana agreed to hear the Election Commission's plea next week.

This was done when senior advocate Vikas Singh submitted electronic voting machines (EVM) and voter-verified paper audit trail machine (VVPAT) and it was preserved and it needs to be maintained. Senior advocate Vikas Singh demanded that a deadline be fixed for filing election petitions for assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Delhi, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.

He said these states/UTs are not able to do so. EVMs used in Union Territories are currently stopped or unable to be used. The senior counsel further said, "We have to maintain these EVM and VVPAT machines and a hearing is necessary as elections are coming up in states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab." He said these machines will be required for the upcoming elections.

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