Supreme Court urges electoral integrity in VVPAT case, directs election body

PTC News Desk: During today's session, the Supreme Court emphasised the necessity of maintaining sanctity in the electoral process, directing its attention towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) and urging it to elucidate the measures undertaken to ensure the conduct of free and fair elections.

Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta emphasised the critical nature of this electoral process, emphasising the importance of upholding its integrity and dispelling any doubts regarding its fairness.

The court is currently adjudicating on petitions that advocate for the verification of votes cast on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) through the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) system. Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, representing the ECI, presented the commission's stance during the proceedings.

Advocate Nizam Pasha, representing one of the petitioners, proposed a procedure wherein voters would be permitted to retain their VVPAT slip after casting their votes and then deposit it in a designated ballot box. Responding to concerns raised about potential breaches of voter privacy, Pasha asserted that safeguarding voter rights should take precedence over privacy concerns.

Subsequently, Advocate Prashant Bhushan suggested that the illumination of the VVPAT machine's light should be extended to remain on continuously throughout the process, rather than for the current duration of approximately seven seconds. He argued that this modification would allow voters to observe the printing and deposition of their VVPAT slips without compromising privacy.

Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde, representing other petitioners, advocated for the implementation of a separate audit mechanism to enhance the credibility of the vote-counting process. Bhushan referenced a report detailing mock poll results in Kerala, wherein additional votes were purportedly recorded for the BJP, prompting the court to seek clarification from Singh regarding this discrepancy.

In his explanation of the voting process, Singh outlined that the EVM's control unit instructs the VVPAT unit to print a paper slip, which remains visible to the voter for seven seconds before being deposited into a sealed box.

He further assured the court that thorough inspections of the machines are conducted in the presence of engineers before polling commences, underscoring the commission's commitment to maintaining the integrity of the electoral process.

- With inputs from agencies

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