SC junks pleas for paper trail of votes cast on EVMs

In a historical judgement, the Supreme Court on Friday rejected a batch pleas seeking a complete cross-verification of votes cast using EVMs with a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). “Blindly distrusting” any aspect of the system can breed unwarranted scepticism, the court observed

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta delivered two concurring verdicts and dismissed all the pleas in the matter, including those seeking to go back to ballot papers in elections.

The top court, however, issued two directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI).

One direction is that after the completion of symbol loading process, the Symbol Loading Unit (SLU) should be sealed in containers. The SLU should be stored at least for a period of 45 days.”

The bench also allowed engineers of the EVM manufacturers to verify the microcontroller of the machines after declaration of the results on the request of candidates who stood second and third.

Request for the verification of the microcontroller can be made within seven days of declaration of the results after payment of fees, the court added.

“If EVM is found tampered during verification, fees paid by the candidates will be refunded,” it said.

“While maintaining a balanced perspective is crucial in evaluating systems or institutions, blindly distrusting any aspect of the system can breed unwarranted scepticism…,” Justice Datta said.

Association for Democratic Reforms, one of the petitioners, had sought reversal of the poll panel’s 2017 decision to replace the transparent glass on VVPAT machines with an opaque glass through which a voter can see the slip only when the light is on for seven seconds.

The petitioners have also sought the court’s direction to revert to the old system of ballot papers.