'Anything Can Happen In Transit': Bharath Electronics Defends Karnataka-Only EVM Recycling Tender Condition Before High Court

Bharath Electronics Limited (BEL), a PSU manufacturing electoral instruments, told the Karnataka High Court on Thursday (May 14) that the State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has given them a strict mandate to follow safety and security protocol while inviting tenders for recycling decommissioned EVMs and VVPATs.

The submission was made before a division bench of Justices H.P Sandesh and P Sree Sudha which was hearing an appeal filed by a Maharashtra-based company challenging a tender condition by BEL that required e-waste recyclers to have facilities within the state for disposing of decommissioned EVMs and VVPAT units.

"Whenever we give someone a contract, we are responsible. The appellant [Recyclekaro] takes the EVMs to Bombay, anything can happen in between”, BEL said. It added that KSPCB was holding BEL accountable over alleged infractions in inviting tenders, especially giving tenders to companies without in-state facilities.

The court, while posting the matter to June 3 for further hearing, also took on record BEL's assurance that it would not precipitate the tender process until the next date of hearing in June.

For context, the appeal was preferred by an e-waste recycling company, Evergreen Recyclekaro India, which challenged the tender condition issued in December 2025 by MSTC Ltd. on behalf of BEL, a public sector undertaking that manufactures EVMs. The recycling company specifically challenged Clause II.3.5 of the tender notification, among others, which prevented it from participating in the tender due to the lack of in-state facilities

When the appeal arising from Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum's order was taken up today, BEL submitted that new EVM machines are ready for subsequent elections, but the Election Commission will not allow the procurement of the same until old EVMs and VVPATs are disposed of by BEL.

“Before monsoons, we ought to do it,” BEL added, explaining the urgency.

The counsel further submitted that there was no malafides or bias against the appellant, noting that participants from outside Karnataka, including Haryana, have disposal sites within the state, who have been participating in the tenders.

"…If there is a disposal site in Karnataka, BEL is able to oversee the process. For the previous tender, they have not complied with PCB guidelines. Still, I am held responsible," the counsel for BEL added.

However, considering the pendency of the appeal, BEL assured the court that it won't precipitate the tender process till June 3.

After hearing both sides, the Division bench orally noted that the court ought to look into whether Evergreen Recyclekaro, the appellant who was an earlier recipient of BEL's EVM tenders, had in fact complied with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board's (KSPCB) guidelines.

“…Appellant brought to the notice of the court that it has enjoyed interim relief [postponement of tender] in WP 935/2026. The appellant submits that in earlier occasions too, the tender date was postponed several times…BEL has fixed the date on 19.05.2026 for inviting tenders… After considering submissions made by parties, and the respondent BEL's undertaking that they are not going to precipitate the matter till the next date…the matter is posted to June 3”, the court noted in the interim order today.

Single Judge Bench Order

On April 29 the single judge had held that a tender condition requiring the participating e-waste companies to have a recycling facility within the state of Karnataka cannot be deemed as 'discriminatory' when the concerned items to be processed are 'sensitive' electoral equipment like EVMs and VVPAT units that are decommissioned

Justice Magadum had opined that the specific condition for in-state facilities was 'a regulatory safeguard rooted in environmental compliance', considering the sensitive nature of the material to be recycled.

The High Court took note of the recommendations made by KSPCB to BEL on account of compliance violations in recycling EVMs and VVPATs in its April 29 order. The mandate of local facilities for disposing EVMs/VVPATs has a direct nexus with ensuring safe, secure and compliant management of such machines, the court noted.

The court also observed that BEL is not an ordinary procuring entity but a premier PSU manufacturing highly-sensitive electoral instruments. Consequently, a certain degree of latitude had to be conceded to the company in framing tender conditions that align with environmental guidelines and to protect its institutional credibility, Justice Magadum said in the order dated April 29.

Case Title: Evergreen Recyclekaro India Limited vs. Bharat Electronics Limited & MSTC Limited

Case No: WA 1424/2026