'There has to be sanctity': SC asks EC to look into alleged EVM malfunctioning in Kerala

‘There has to be sanctity’: SC asks EC to look into alleged EVM malfunctioning in Kerala

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked election commission of India (ECI) to look into the allegation made by advocate Prashant Bhushan that during a mock poll in Kasaragod, Kerala that four Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) recorded one extra vote for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The SC observed that in an electoral process, there has to be sanctity and nobody should have apprehension that something which is expected is not being done.

An ECI official was present before the SC bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta that heard pleas seeking cross-verification of votes cast with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail, explaining the working of EVMs and VVPAT.

VVPAT is a system that allows voters to verify if their vote has been cast correctly and counted towards the candidate they intended to support. VVPAT produces a paper slip that is securely stored and can be accessed in case of any disputes or discrepancies. In light of the concerns and doubts raised by the opposition regarding EVM, petitions were filed demanding the cross-verification of each vote cast.

EC on Tuesday had said sample verification of VVPAT paper trail of one EVM by a team of officers takes about an hour. “If what Naidu seeks, that is verification of VVPAT paper trail of 50% of the EVMs, declaration of result of election could be delayed by 5-6 days,” it had said.

While reposing full faith in EC and existing voting system, SC bench of Justices Gogoi, Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna had said, “If number of EVMs which are subjected to verification of paper trail can be increased to a reasonable number, it would lead to greater satisfaction amongst not only political parties but entire electorate… We are of the view that if number of EVMs in respect of which VVPAT paper slips is to be subjected to physical scrutiny is increased from 1 to 5, additional manpower that would be required would not be difficult for the ECI to provide nor would the declaration of the result be substantially delayed.” At present, a bench led by Justice Khanna is adjudicating a petition seeking 100% counting of VVPAT slips.

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