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The Hindu
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/evm-vvpat-case-updates-supreme-court-to-pass-verdict-today-april-26-2024/article68108718.ece
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THE HINDU BUREAU
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New Delhi

The Court has also declined a plea to bring back paper ballots for the voting process.

The Supreme Court on April 26 rejected a batch of petitions seeking 100% cross-verification of vote count in electronic voting machines (EVMs) with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) paper slips. It has also declined a plea to bring back paper ballots for the voting process.

The main opinion of Justice Sanjiv Khanna was concurred with by Justice Dipankar Datta in a separate opinion. The pronouncement of the verdict coincides with the second phase of polling for the General Elections to the Lok Sabha. 

However, the Bench has issued a series of directions to strengthen the existing system. It has ordered sealing of the Symbol Loading Units (SLUs) after the symbol loading process on or after May 1, 2024. The sealed SLUs will be kept in the strong room along with the EVMs for 45 days after polling.

A recommendation to include an electronic machine for counting paper slips and bar codes along with symbols for political parties has also been made. However, it rejected pleas advanced by the petitioners to give voters access to VVPAT paper slips to put physically into the ballot boxes. 

Notably, candidates can get 5% of the EVMs — ballot units, control units and VVPATs — of any given constituency verified by the engineers of the manufacturers following a written request to this effect. The request should be made within seven days of the declaration of the election results. 

During the proceedings, the petitioners, including the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), pointed out that both EVMS and VVPATs have a “programmable chip” and that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has previously denied sharing their “source code” on the ground that they constitute the intellectual property of the manufacturers. 

The VVPAT machine is attached to the ballot unit of the EVM and prints out a slip of paper with the voter’s choice once the vote is cast. The slip is visible for seven seconds for the voter to verify if their vote was cast correctly before it falls into a compartment kept underneath. Polling officials use these slips to verify votes cast. However, not all votes are verified – the VVPAT slips are used to verify votes cast only in five randomly selected polling booths per constituency. 

Defending the existing system, the ECI said that it matched EVM votes with more than 4 crore VVPAT slips and asserted that no discrepancies have been recorded till now. It further assured that it is impossible to manipulate EVMs.

It also submitted that counting 100% VVPAT slips would pose a “great difficulty” as it would take an hour to count the slips from one VVPAT alone. The Court was also apprised that the EVM manufacturers did not know which button would be allocated to which candidate, or the constituency to which the machine would be sent.

APRIL 26, 2024 11:10
EVM-VVPAT to stay: SC rejects plea for revival of ballot papers

On a day when the nation is voting during the second phase of General elections, the Supreme Court on April 26, 2024, has rejected a plea to bring back paper ballots for the voting process. The two-judge Bench also declined the plea for 100% cross-verification of EVM-VVPAT vote counts with paper slips.

The top court also denied giving voters VVPAT paper slips to put in physically into the ballot boxes.

Read more here. 

  • APRIL 26, 2024 10:55
    Candidates can get 5% of the EVMs of any constituency verified by the engineers of the manufacturers

    SC directs that candidates can verify 5% EVMs — ballot units, control units and VVPATs — of any given assembly segment of a parliamentary constituency by the engineers of the manufacturers. The exercise can be done on the written request of a candidate. The request should be made within seven days of the declaration of the election results. The District Election Officer shall certify the exercise. The candidate shall take the expenses. He or she would be refunded if the EVMs are found tampered with.

  • APRIL 26, 2024 10:52
    Plea to give voters VVPAT paper slips to put physically into the ballot boxes rejected by SC

    The Bench has also dismissed the plea advanced by the petitioners to give voters VVPAT paper slips to put physically into the ballot boxes. 

  • APRIL 26, 2024 10:44
    SC recommends electronic machines for counting paper slips and bar codes along with symbols for political parties

    The Court further recommends including an electronic machine for counting paper slips and bar codes along with symbols for political parties. 

  • APRIL 26, 2024 10:41
    Symbol Loading Units are to be stored at least for 45 days after polling, the Court orders.

    The Bench directs that the Symbol Loading Units (SLUs) are to be sealed after the symbol loading process on or after May 1, 2024. The sealed SLUs will be stored in the strong room along with the EVMs for 45 days after polling. 

  • APRIL 26, 2024 10:36
    SC rejects pleas seeking 100% cross-verification of EVM votes with VVPAT slips

    The Court rejects pleas for paper ballot voting, complete EVM-VVPAT verification and physical deposit of VVPAT slips. 

  • APRIL 26, 2024 10:34
    Two concurring verdicts by the Bench

    Justice Khanna says that there are two concurring judgments. 

    “We have elaborately discussed the protocols and technical aspects. We have rejected all the pleas”, he adds. 

  • APRIL 26, 2024 10:32
    The Bench has assembled for the pronouncement
  • APRIL 26, 2024 10:07
    Two separate verdicts are to be pronounced at 10:30 am as per the causelist

    A Bench of Justices Khanna and Dipankar Datta will pronounce two separate verdicts at 10:30 am. 

  • APRIL 26, 2024 09:25
    A brief history of EVMs in India | Explained

    APRIL 26, 2024 09:24

What happened during the last hearing?
APRIL 26, 2024 08:56
EVM-VVPAT case | Cannot disclose ‘source code’ of EVMs, will result in misuse: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday underscored that it cannot ask the Election Commission of India to disclose the source codes of the Electronic Voting Machines as it can result in its misuse. The source code often called “the brain” refers to a set of instructions that tells the machine how to function.

Read more here. 

  • PRIL 26, 2024 08:36
    What is a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail?

    The Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail is a method that provides feedback to voters. It is an independent verification printer machine and is attached to electronic voting machines. It allows voters to verify if their vote has gone to the intended candidate.​How does it work? Here are the details.​

  • APRIL 26, 2024 08:09
    What is the EVM-VVPAT verification issue before the Supreme Court? | Explained

    The Supreme Court on April 18 reserved its judgment on a batch of petitions seeking directions to tally Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips with votes cast through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the elections. What is the case about?

    Read more here.


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