Supreme Court Rejects Pleas for 100% EVM-VVPAT Cross-Verification, Upholds Electoral System - 2024-04-26

Supreme Court Rejects Pleas for 100% EVM-VVPAT Cross-Verification, Upholds Electoral System

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a batch of petitions seeking 100% cross-verification of votes cast through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips, upholding the credibility of the current electoral system.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta , in separate but concurring judgments, expressed confidence in the existing electoral mechanisms, emphasizing that mere suspicion is not enough to question a system pivotal to the democratic process of the world's largest democracy.

The court, however, issued two directives to allay the apprehension of candidates and strengthen the existing mechanism. It directed that the containers carrying the symbol loading unit should be sealed in the presence of candidates or their polling agents and be kept secured for 45 days – the period for which the control unit, ballot unit, and VVPATs candidates are preserved for enabling candidates to file election petitions against the poll result.

Second, the court ordered that if any candidate files a written complaint within seven days of the poll results, casting doubt on the process’s dependability, the control unit, ballot unit, and VVPATs would be examined by the engineers of the EVM manufacturing companies following the results announcement.

The verdict came after a two-day hearing and subsequent clarifications sought from the Election Commission of India (ECI) on the functioning of EVMs, including the reprogrammability of microcontrollers embedded in them.

The court acknowledged the responses provided by the ECI to its queries and noted that the microcontrollers are one-time programmable, ensuring the integrity of the voting process.

The petitioners had argued for a return to the previous method of using ballot papers, citing concerns about the reliability of EVMs. However, the court dismissed these arguments, stating that it could not alter the mindset of those questioning the benefits of voting machines.

The court also declined to disclose the source code of EVMs, citing the risk of misuse.

The verdict is a significant development in the ongoing debate over the reliability of EVMs in India's electoral process. It reaffirms the court's trust in the current system while providing additional safeguards to address concerns raised by candidates.

Keywords:

• Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)
• Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)
• Election Commission of India (ECI)
• Electoral Integrity
• Supreme Court Verdict
• Cross-Verification
• Ballot Papers
• Microcontrollers
• Source Code
• Confidence in Electoral System