A Supreme Court bench directed the Central Government to examine the introduction of “totaliser” machines for counting EVM votes to preserve voter anonymity and prevent the identification of booth-level voting trends. Under this proposed mechanism, totaliser devices would connect to clusters of 14 electronic voting machines to count votes collectively, displaying aggregate candidate totals without exposing individual booth splits.
The court emphasized that consolidated tallying protects electors from potential intimidation, political victimisation by defeated candidates, and targeted administrative neglect. The devices were developed by Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited, while the Union Government has historically expressed reservations regarding their implementation due to operational and legislative considerations.
The Central Government has now been asked to consult technical experts and the Election Commission of India before submitting its evaluation. Further hearings will review recommendations submitted by the Law Ministry and election monitoring bodies.