Barely a week after Leader of Opposition L K Advani raised doubts about EVMs, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Friday, seeking directions to ascertain whether the machines were tamper-proof.

As was first reported by The Sunday Express, Advani had sought re-introduction of ballot papers if EVMs were found to be tampered with. Following this, former Delhi chief secretary Omesh Saigal met CEC Navin Chawla, asking him to review the working of EVMs.

Voicing identical fears, two officials from Hyderabad-based Election Watch Group along with two engineers filed a PIL, seeking formation of an expert group to examine the EVM functioning.

Election Watch official V V Rao and engineers A Kankipati and Y Vasaya stated in their petition that it was possible to meddle with the EVM software and, in the process, rig the election process.

“Several experts, Election Watch Group and individuals, who have been monitoring the election process, have found that EVMs could be tampered and manipulated,” the petition noted. “They have analysed the results in several constituencies, which indicate that there is something drastically wrong with the EVMs.”

Citing two expert panels which were appointed by the ECI in 1990 and 2005, the petition added it was indicated that there were several lacunae in the EVM functioning which needed rectification.