The 2022 Nobel Prize for physics was unusual because it was awarded not for a scientific discovery or technological innovation. Instead, it went to three physicists who proved that a peculiar natural phenomenon, called quantum entanglement, is real and that it isn’t the result of hitherto unknown physics, meaning whatever physics we already know should be able to explain it. Many physicists still lack an intuitive understanding of how this phenomenon happens physically, but thanks to the Nobel laureates’ work, they know it does.
The Supreme Court’s verdict on the petition brought by the Association for Democratic Reforms and Arun Kumar Agarwal against the processes by which the Election Commission (EC) ascertains the security of its electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the integrity of the voting process could learn something from this Nobel-winning effort. Hearing the matter on April 24, the Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta had an eye-opening exchange with the lawyers, particularly in two instances.
In the first instance, advocate Santhosh Paul for the petitioners said EVMs have a “source code” that should be disclosed for independent verification, to which Justice Khanna replied, “The source code should never be disclosed. If it is disclosed, it will be misused.” Second, when asked whether the microcontrollers in the EVM’s three components could be reprogrammed, an EC official said they couldn’t. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, for the petitioners, disputed this claim saying the microcontrollers’ manufacturer’s data suggested they could be. Justice Khanna then said, “He [the official] has clarified the doubt” and that “we have to rely on them [EC] on technical data”. In a final instance, the Bench passed the order on April 26, refusing to revert to paper ballots and said “blind distrust” of the system is bad for progress.
