New Delhi: In a significant order ahead of the first phase of the polls on April 11, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the Election Commission to increase the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) physical verification from 1 to 5 EVMs in each Assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency.
A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna directed the EC to continue with the existing procedure of choosing the EVMs at random for the purpose of physical verification of VVPAT.
The Bench passed this order on batch of petitions filed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and 20 other political leaders seeking that the EC should be directed to conduct 50 per cent verification. They said by employing more staff the delay in counting process could be reduced and such physical verification of VVPAT would enhance “purity” and integrity in elections.
The court said the objective behind the direction to increase the EVMs for verification of VVPAT from one to five was to ensure a higher degree of accuracy to enhance the satisfaction in free and fair elections of not just the political parties but of the people of the country.
It clarified that the efficacy of the system as it presently exists or the credibility of the EVMs is not doubted.
After the court direction, the exercise will be held in 20,600 of 10.35 lakh polling stations in the Lok Sabha elections. Though the exercise of matching EVM results with paper trail machine slips was being held in Assembly elections, this is the first time it will be undertaken in Lok Sabha polls.
Meanwhile, the Congress urged the Supreme Court to review its decision on matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs, saying it is not satisfied with the counting being held in only five booths in each Assembly segment.
Party chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that as a citizen of India he was concerned why `18,000 crore were spent on VVPATs if they were not to be used in elections.
