VVPAT-cross verification case: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to look into the allegation made by advocate Prashant Bhushan that during a mock poll in Kasaragod, Kerala four EVMs were recording one extra vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The top court observed that this is electoral process and there has to be sanctity to it and let nobody have apprehension that something which is expected is not being done.
During the hearing, the bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta said there has to be sanctity in the electoral process, asking the poll body to explain the detailed steps followed to ensure free and fair elections.
The court was hearing petitions seeking cross-verification of votes cast on Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) with paper slips generated through the VVPAT system.
On Tuesday, the apex court rejected the arguments of Bhushan, appearing for the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), about how most European countries that had opted for voting through EVMs have returned to paper ballots.
“We are in our 60s. We all know what happened when there were ballot papers; you may have, but we have not forgotten,” Justice Sanjiv Khanna had said.
The top court also posed some questions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and asked whether CCTV cameras are installed at all polling booths.
The official of ECI present through video-conferencing told the bench that CCTV cameras are installed in 50 percent of polling booths.
Voters can check if their preferred candidate received the majority of the vote by using the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). The paper slip produced by the VVPAT can be unsealed and is stored in a sealed cover in case of dispute.
Currently, each Assembly segment’s five randomly chosen EVMs’ VVPAT slips are validated. The petitions ask for a cross-verification of each vote in response to the opposition’s concerns and queries about the electronic voting machine technology.
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Published: 18 Apr 2024, 01:00 PM IST