On a number of petitions, the Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on whether or not to conduct a thorough cross-verification of votes cast using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPAT). A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta is anticipated to release the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that it could not “control the elections” or give any orders based only on concerns about the accuracy of electronic voting machines. Regarding several petitions claiming that electronic voting machines could be tampered with to affect election results, the court postponed making a decision.
“We went through the FAQs. We just wanted three-four 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).
It also acknowledged the answers the ECI had given to its questions. The bench specifically asked an official to clarify five points regarding how EVMs work, including whether or not the microcontrollers that are embedded in them are reprogrammable.
The bench added, “First clarification needed is with regard to 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.”
One of the petitioners, the non-governmental organization “Association for Democratic Reforms,” has asked that the poll panel’s 2017 decision to replace the transparent glass on VVPAT machines with an opaque one—which would have limited voters’ ability to view the slip—be reversed.
The petitioners have also asked the court to order a return to the earlier voting paper method.
Even though the EC reserved its decision following a two-day hearing on April 18, the case was brought up again on Wednesday in order to get more information.
The ongoing seven-phase Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to end on June 4 with the results being announced. The polls began on April 19.
