Supreme Court to Hear Pleas on EVM-VVPAT Verification

On April 16, the Supreme Court will address a series of petitions concerning Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta will preside over the hearing, following their commitment to consider all related pleas. Among these is a petition filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), urging the Court to direct the Election Commission and the Central Government to ensure voters can verify that their votes are accurately recorded via VVPATs. The petition calls for matching EVM counts with verifiable votes, emphasizing the importance of ensuring voters’ ability to confirm that their votes are “counted as recorded.” The plea highlights a perceived gap in the law, stating that the Election Commission has not established a procedure for voters to verify that their votes are accurately tallied, as mandated by previous Supreme Court directives. This issue was brought to light last year when the Supreme Court sought responses from the Election Commission regarding ADR’s plea. As India prepares for the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections starting April 19, the hearing assumes significance in addressing concerns surrounding the transparency and integrity of the electoral process.