EVM-VVPAT Case: SC Junks Pleas on 100% Verification of Votes, Says 'Blindly Doubting System Can...'

New Delhi: Supreme Court on April 26 announced much-anticipated verdict on EVM-VVPAT verification case, rejecting all pleas seeking complete verification of votes recorded in EVMs with VVPAT slips.

two-judge bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta delivered concurrent but separate judgments. y noted that democracy is ‘about striving to build harmony and blindly distrusting poll process can le to unwarranted suspicion.’

apex court, however, passed two directions — one direction is after completion of symbol loing process, Symbol Loing Unit (SLU) should be sealed and y should be stored at least for 45 days.

second direction issued by Supreme Court is that re will be an option for candidates to get microcontroller program of EVMs to be checked by a team of engineers after declaration of results, such a request is to be me by candidate within seven days after declaration of results.

court suggested poll body to explore possibility of using a machine to count VVPAT slips. It ded that if a candidate seeks cross-verification of voting method, he/she must pay for it and if EVM in question is found to have tampered, payment must be refunded.

verdict came when voting for second phase of Lok Sabha election 2024 is underway with crores of voters polling ir rights in 88 seats across 13 states and Union Territories.

EVM-VVPAT Case: Key Points of Judgement

• apex court h on Thursday reserved its judgement in EVM-VVPAT verification case, stating that it is not controlling authority for elections and cannot dictate functioning of Election Commission. 
• Amid opposition unease, regarding voting system through EVM-VVPAT, petition sought a direction to cross-verify every vote cast on EVMs with paper slips generated by VVPAT system. For information, cross-verification method is alrey implemented but it's done for five randomly selected EVMs in every Assembly constituency. However, pleas sought 100 per cent cross-verification. 
• In earlier hearings, petitioners pinned case on public trust and apprised court of practice in European countries which has gone back to ballot voting system. 
• apex court, however, brushed off such arguments stating that challenges in India are different than of European countries. Tabling ir side, Election Commission asserted that current system is foolproof.

EVM Voting: How Things Work 

Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) has two units- a control unit and a balloting unit, with both of m connected via a cable. se units are also connected with a VVPAT -- Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail -- machine.

VVPAT machine gives space to voters to see if vote was cast accurately and went to candidate of ir choice, enhancing transparency in voting method. balloting unit is usually covered on all sides for voter's privacy.