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Supreme Court reserves verdict on pleas seeking cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with VVPAT
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta reserved its verdict after hearing the response of Election Commission on the pleas. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the Election Commission, explained the process of how an EVM functions.
The Supreme Court on Thursday, April 18, reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking complete cross-verification of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) data with Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT).
The bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta reserved its verdict after hearing the response of Election Commission on the pleas. The petitioners have also sought reversal of the poll panel’s 2017 decision to replace the transparent glass on VVPAT machines with an opaque glass through which a voter can see the slip only when the light is on for seven seconds.
During the proceedings, various suggestions were put forth by advocates, such as Advocate Prashant Bhushan proposing to keep the VVPAT screen lit throughout the voting duration, Advocate Nizam Pasha suggesting physical retrieval of VVPAT slips by voters, and Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde advocating for a separate audit of all VVPATs to enhance credibility.
Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the Election Commission, explained the process of how an EVM functions.
The bench also addressed concerns raised regarding the integrity of EVMs, with the ECI official asserting that there has never been a discrepancy between VVPAT slips and EVM votes. The Court reminded petitioners not to be overly suspicious and to acknowledge positive aspects of the electoral process.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan and senior advocate Gopal Sankararanarayanan appeared for the petitioners. Other lawyers represented the intervenors.
On April 16, the top court had deprecated criticism of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and calls for reverting to ballot papers, saying the electoral process in India is a “humongous task” and attempts should not be made to ”bring down the system”.
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