SC asks ECI, Centre to respond to its request to count every VVPAT slip

The Supreme Court issued notifications to both the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the BJP-led central government in response to a petition requesting the comprehensive counting of all Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) paper slips in the general elections.

A bench consisting of justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta sent notifications to the ECI, acknowledging the petitions submitted by activist Arun Kumar Agrawal and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), according to news agency ANI.

The petition challenged the commission’s guidelines, which require VVPAT verification to be conducted sequentially, causing undue delays. The plea argued for simultaneous verification with increased personnel, estimating that complete VVPAT verification could be completed within 5-6 hours per assembly constituency.

It was highlighted that despite the government’s expenditure of nearly ₹5,000 crore on the purchase of almost 24 lakh VVPATs, verification currently only covers approximately 20,000 VVPAT slips.

The plea stressed the importance of counting all VVPAT slips to address concerns raised by experts regarding discrepancies between Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and VVPAT vote counts, ensuring voter confidence and the integrity of the electoral process.

The court subsequently issued the notice and linked it with pending matters on the subject.

Meanwhile, the Congress welcomed the court’s attention to the matter, considering it a significant initial step and urged for a prompt resolution before the commencement of the Lok Sabha polls.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh expressed via a post on X, “The Supreme Court has issued a notice today to the Election Commission on the issue of VVPATs. It bears constant repetition that the Election Commission has refused to meet a delegation of INDIA (bloc) party leaders who have been demanding 100 percent VVPATs in order to increase public confidence in EVMs and to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.”

The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) serves as an independent vote verification system, enabling voters to confirm their vote was cast accurately.

Introduced in India during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, VVPAT is a ballot-less system connected to the EVM, printing a paper slip when a voter casts their vote. The slip displays the candidate’s name and party symbol chosen by the voter, visible through a transparent window before being sealed inside the machine.

On April 8, 2019, the Supreme Court directed the ECI to increase the number of EVMs undergoing VVPAT physical verification from one to five per assembly segment in a parliamentary