The Supreme Court is poised to render its verdict on a series of petitions that advocate for a thorough cross-verification of votes cast via Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). The decision from the Supreme Court is anticipated to be delivered by a bench comprised of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta.
Supreme Court on EVM-VVPAT case
In a session held on Wednesday, the Supreme Court clarified its stance, stating that it lacks the authority to “control the elections” or issue directives solely based on doubts surrounding the reliability of EVMs. The court has deferred its decision on a collection of petitions alleging that EVMs are susceptible to tampering, which could potentially sway the outcomes of elections.
“We went through the FAQs. We just wanted three clarifications. We don’t want to be factually wrong but doubly sure in our findings and hence we thought of seeking clarification,” the bench told additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, who appeared for the Election Commission of India (ECI).
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Moreover, the Supreme Court recognized the responses submitted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to its inquiries. Specifically, the bench requested clarification from an official on five queries pertaining to the functionality of EVMs, which include inquiries about the programmability of the microcontrollers integrated within them.
The bench added, “First clarification needed is with regard to the microcontroller. Whether it is installed in the controlling unit or in the VVPAT. We were under the impression that the microcontroller is the memory installed in the control unit (CU). One of the questions in the FAQs indicates that it is also installed in the VVPAT.”
The NGO ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’, one of the petitioners, has requested the reversal of the poll panel’s 2017 decision to substitute the transparent glass on VVPAT machines with an opaque one, allowing voters to view the slip only when illuminated for seven seconds.
The court expressed its inability to change the mindset of individuals questioning the advantages of voting machines and advocating a return to paper ballots.
Senior advocate Santosh Paul, representing one of the petitioners, underscored the importance of disclosing the source code of EVMs to ensure transparency. However, the court responded, stating, “No, the source code cannot be disclosed as there is a chance of it being misused.”
Furthermore, the petitioners have urged the court to mandate a return to the previous practice of using paper ballots.
Although the court reserved its verdict on April 18 following a two-day hearing, the matter was revisited on Wednesday for additional clarifications from the EC.
The ongoing Lok Sabha elections, conducted in seven phases, commenced on April 19 and are scheduled to conclude with the announcement of results on June 4.
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