The Supreme Court denies requests for cross-verification of votes cast with VVPAT and EVMs.
On Friday, the Supreme Court denied requests for a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) and full cross-verification of votes cast using electronic voting machines. The court further stated that “blindly distrusting” any part of the system can lead to unjustified skepticism.
In two concurring rulings, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta upheld the notion that “democracy is all about striving to build harmony and trust between all institutions” and rejected all of the requests submitted in the case, including those requesting a return to ballots used in elections.
Two orders were issued by the court. Following the announcement of his decision, Justice Khanna ordered the Election Commission to store and seal the units used to load symbols for a period of forty-five days following the loading of symbols into electronic voting machines located in strong rooms.
After the results were announced, the Supreme Court allowed the engineers of the EVM manufacturers to verify the microcontrollers of the devices at the request of the runners-up and third-place competitors.
The court stated that requests for the microcontroller’s verification may be filed within seven days of the results being announced and fees being paid.
If EVM is found tampered with during verification, fees paid by the candidates will be refunded,” it said.
The ballot unit, control unit, and VVPAT are the three components that make up an EVM. Microcontrollers with factory-burned memory are incorporated in all three of them. Presently, each assembly constituency has five booths using VVPATs.
“While maintaining a balanced perspective is crucial in evaluating systems or institutions, blindly distrusting any aspect of the system can breed unwarranted skepticism,” Justice Datta stated.
Hearing the case on April 24, the bench stated that just because questions have been raised regarding the effectiveness of the EVM, it cannot “control the elections” or give orders.
The petitions alleged that polling equipment could be manipulated to skew the results.
Upholding the belief that “democracy is all about striving to build harmony and trust between all institutions,” a bench consisting of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta rendered two unanimous decisions, rejecting all of the pleas submitted in the case, including those requesting a return to traditional voting ballots.
The court issued two directives. Pronouncing his verdict, Justice Khanna directed the Election Commission to seal and store units used to load symbols for 45 days after the symbols have been loaded into electronic voting machines in strong rooms.
The apex court also allowed engineers of the EVM manufacturers to verify the microcontrollers of the machines after the declaration of the results, at the request of candidates who stood second and third.
A request for the verification of the microcontroller can be made within seven days of the declaration of the results after payment of fees, the court said.
“If EVM is found tampered with during verification, fees paid by the candidates will be refunded,” it said.
An EVM comprises three units: the ballot unit, the control unit, and the VVPAT. All three are embedded with microcontrollers that have a burned memory from the manufacturer. Currently, VVPATs are used in five booths per assembly constituency.
“While maintaining a balanced perspective is crucial in evaluating systems or institutions, blindly distrusting any aspect of the system can breed unwarranted skepticism,” stated Justice Datta.
Hearing the case on April 24, the bench stated that just because questions have been raised regarding the effectiveness of the EVM, it cannot “control the elections” or give orders.
The petitions claimed the polling devices could be tinkered with to manipulate the results.
The NGO 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.
Beginning on April 19, the seven phases of the Lok Sabha elections will end on June 4 with the results being announced.