Supreme Court to Pronounce Verdict on VVPAT-EVM Tally
The Supreme Court will deliver its verdict today on a series of petitions urging it to order the tabulation of Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips with votes cast electronically through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during elections. The judgment in the case will be critical for resolving concerns regarding the accuracy and transparency of India’s voting system.
During hearings on the petitions, the Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta discussed extensively with an Election Commission of India (ECI) official to understand the workings of EVMs. Senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing the ECI, maintained the machines are standalone and tamper-proof, but allowed for the possibility of human error.
The bench emphasized the importance of maintaining the sanctity of the electoral process, highlighting the need to allay concerns both within and outside the court. The Supreme Court cautioned petitioners against excessive suspicion, stating that the ECI should be appreciated for its positive contributions rather than being constantly criticized.
In earlier proceedings, the bench expressed reservations about the feasibility of manual counting, given the scale of India’s electoral process. VVPAT, a system enabling voters to visually confirm their votes, generates a paper slip stored in a sealed cover for potential verification in case of disputes. Currently, only VVPAT slips from five randomly selected EVMs in each assembly segment are subject to verification.
Amidst opposition concerns about the reliability of EVMs, the petitions call for cross-verification of all votes. They have been submitted by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and activist Arun Kumar Agarwal, who has sought the counting of all VVPAT slips. The ADR’s petition seeks a court directive to the Election Commission and the government to ensure that voters can confirm their votes through VVPATs.
