Today(on 29th April),Supreme Court declines new plea to increase VVPAT verification against EVM votes, citing existing scrutiny adequacy. Petition aimed to raise verified EVMs per assembly segment during Lok Sabha elections.
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NEW DELHI: Today(on 29th April), The Supreme Court of India decided against accepting a new petition that called for a more comprehensive verification of Voter Verifiable Paper Trail (VVPAT) slips against votes cast through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
The plea, which sought to enhance the scrutiny of VVPAT slips, was brought before a bench comprising Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta. It aimed to increase the number of EVMs verified with VVPAT slips in each assembly segment during Lok Sabha elections, which currently stands at only five.
Justice Gavai, addressing the petitioner, was quick to dismiss the plea, stating-
“The Coordinate Bench has already thoroughly examined the issue. We regret any inconvenience.” This statement reiterates the court’s prior rulings regarding the matter.
On April 26, a similar plea was rejected by another Supreme Court bench led by Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta. The bench defended the reliability of EVM voting and rejected any move to revert to the paper ballot system. This earlier verdict was in response to three separate petitions that collectively sought a comprehensive tally of VVPAT slips with EVM votes to ensure electoral transparency.
One petitioner had demanded that each EVM vote be verified against a corresponding VVPAT slip to affirm the accuracy of the voting process. Furthermore, another significant plea by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) argued for the necessity of tallying VVPAT slips with EVM votes, emphasizing the right of citizens to have their votes “counted as recorded” and “recorded as cast.”
The issue of VVPAT verification has been a recurring theme in discussions about electoral integrity in India. Prior to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, approximately 21 opposition parties had approached the apex court, advocating for a VVPAT verification of at least 50 percent of all EVMs.
At that time, the Election Commission of India (ECI) was only tallying one random EVM per assembly segment with its VVPAT slips.
However, the Supreme Court, on April 8, 2019, slightly increased the verification scope from one to five EVMs per segment and dismissed the petition. Later in May 2019, another plea by a group of technocrats, which demanded VVPAT verification for all EVMs, was also turned down by the court.
This series of judicial decisions highlights the Supreme Court’s position on maintaining the status quo regarding the verification of VVPAT slips in the electoral process, reinforcing the reliability of the current EVM system while balancing calls for increased transparency.
ALSO READ: “Electoral Process Demands Sanctity” SC Tells EC In VVPAT Case
Case Title:
Mohit Kumar Bhandari v. Election Commission of India
