Supreme Court refuses to entertain plea challenging HC order dismissing PIL against procedure adopted for FLC of EVMs

The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a plea challenging the procedure for conducting the ‘first level checking’ (FLC) of EVMs and VVPATs ahead of the 2024 general elections. The court stated that interfering would delay the election schedule and dismissed the plea. The petitioner had voiced concerns about the process adopted during the FLC. The court noted that the involvement of political parties is one step in the process and the absence of some parties does not indicate a lack of faith in the outcome. The high court had previously stated that the guidelines in place were sufficient to ensure the integrity of the FLC process.