TruthWave Investigation | September 2, 2026

The Supreme Court has reopened a long-running question in Indian elections: should votes recorded by electronic voting machines be counted in clusters so candidates cannot reconstruct how individual polling booths voted?

What the Court asked

On September 1, a three-judge Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant asked the Union government to examine whether the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 can be amended to introduce a totaliser for EVM counting. The Court also asked about impediments, possible effects, consultations and the Election Commission proposal.

What a totaliser changes

A totaliser combines votes from multiple EVM control units before candidate-wise results are disclosed. Supporters see this as a privacy safeguard because booth-level voting patterns become harder to infer. Critics may raise questions about transparency and verification.

Important limitation

The Court has not ordered nationwide deployment. The immediate issue is whether the legal and administrative framework should be examined.

Sources

Supreme Court proceedings and published reporting.