Supreme Court Holds Verdict on Requests for Cross-Verification of EVM Votes with VVPAT Machines

The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on a series of pleas for complete cross-verification of votes cast using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) as the Election Commission (EC) denies ‘extra vote for BJP’ reports.

19 April 2024

By Ishika Kumar

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta reserved its verdict as the Petitioners, ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’ (ADR), an NGO, highlighted the lack of voter verification procedures and suggested a longer display of VVPAT slips. 

While the hearing took place, several suggestions were also made to enhance transparency in the Indian electoral system. The suggestions were focused on seeking cross-verification of votes cast by the voters as ‘counted as recorded’, in the EVM with a VVPAT machine. The petitioner said there is no procedure marked by the Election Commission for the voter to verify that their vote has been counted and is deemed recorded. It can blotch voter verifiability and raise serious concerns. This requirement is met to some degree when the VVPAT light is displayed for about seven seconds after pressing the button on the EVM through a transparent window. It verifies that their vote has been recorded on the internally printed VVPAT slip before the slip falls into the ballot box.

The Supreme Court bench hearing the petition directed the EC to explain the steps taken to maintain the ‘sanctity’ of the electoral process. “Let nobody have apprehension that something which is expected is not being done,” the bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta said. After hearing the EC’s response to the pleas, the bench conveyed that not everything can be speculated for malicious practices.

The bench made the remarks when senior advocate Prashant Bhushan was appearing for the petitioner ADR, which sought reversal of the poll panel’s decision in 2017 to replace the transparent glass on VVPAT machines with an opaque glass through which a voter can only see the slip when the light is on for seven seconds. “I understand it is election eve, at least the bulb which glows for seven seconds should be allowed to glow continuously after the button is pressed in the EVM,” Bhushan put forward.

The bench interacted with the senior deputy election commissioner, Nitesh Kumar Vyas, in order to understand the functioning of the EVMs and told Bhushan that voter satisfaction and trust are at the core of the electoral process. The Supreme Court accentuated the importance of voter satisfaction and trust in the electoral system, urging the petitioners to appreciate the EC’s good work. They said, “Everything cannot be suspected. If they have done something good, you have to appreciate it. You don’t have to be critical of everything.”

During the hearing, the petitioners also cited a report which was on the mock poll results in Kerala’s Kasaragod, wherein three extra votes were recorded for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The EC later clarified that the report was completely false. Advocate Nizam Pasha suggested the voters be able to take the VVPAT slip home after they have cast them. The SC bench indicated the aspect of privacy regarding the suggested solution. To this, Pasha said, “Voter privacy cannot be used to defeat voter’s rights.”