False claims being made about EVM tampering on social media, FIR registered in Mumbai, says EC

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The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday said that an FIR registered was registered by Mumbai Cyber Crime Cell after false claims about EVM machine tampering were made on social media.

The EC said that a video circulating on social media, where a person falsely claimed to have the ability to tamper with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during elections in Maharashtra and an FIR has been filed by the Mumbai Police.

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The complaint was filed by the Chief Election Officer (CEO) of Maharashtra, prompting the Cyber Police to register an FIR on the night of November 30th. The case was filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, including Section 318/4 of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS), 2023, and clauses 43(g) and 66(d) of the IT Act, 2000.

In response to the claims, the Election Commission of India reiterated that EVMs are tamper-proof. EVMs are standalone devices that cannot be connected to any network, including Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, making any manipulation of the machines impossible.

In an official statement, the EC said, "A video was shared by some social media users where a person is making false, baseless and unsubstantiated claims to hack and tamper EVMS in Maharashtra elections by isolation of EVM frequency. Mumbai Cyber Police has registered FIR at Cyber Police Station, on 30th November night against the person in this video after receiving a complaint from CEO Maharashtra. The offence is lodged as per 318/4 of Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS), 2023 as well as under Clause 43 (g) and Clause 66 (d) of IT Act, 2000."

The poll body said, "EVM is a standalone machine that cannot be connected to any network including any Wi-Fi or any Bluetooth by any person whatsoever. Therefore, question of manipulating EVMs does not arise. EVMs are completely tamper-proof. Supreme Court on multiple occasions has reposed their faith in EVMs. The Election Commission of India has already published detailed FAQs on its website to clear any doubts and myths on EVMs. In a similar incident involving false claims, an FIR was lodged on the direction of the Election Commission against the same person in 2019 in Delhi who is hiding in some another country."