Calcutta High Court Allows Deletion of Old EVM Data, Exempts Wards with Pending Election Disputes

MP, Oct 15, 2026, 12:12 am, Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday allowed the State Election Commission (WBEC) to delete old data from electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in previous civic elections and reuse them for the upcoming municipal polls, barring machines linked to certain pending election disputes.

A division bench of Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge and Justice Om Narayan Rai directed the commission to preserve data in EVMs concerning three wards of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Contai municipality in East Midnapore.

The commission had approached the court citing a shortage of EVMs ahead of civic polls scheduled for November. Several machines remained preserved due to litigation arising from previous municipal elections.

During the October 12 hearing, the bench had asked whether existing EVM data could be stored on a hard disk and whether deletion was necessary before reusing the machines.

On Wednesday, the commission informed the court that the old data could be erased.

Additional Advocate General Bilwadal Bhattacharya submitted that the Supreme Court’s stay applied to certain wards of Contai municipality, while disputes involving other municipal wards were pending before the High Court.

The bench subsequently permitted deletion of old EVM data, except in the specified cases, clearing the way for the commission to reuse the remaining machines.