The Supreme Court will hear petitions on April 18 requesting verification of votes cast through Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) to ensure the accuracy of the electoral process. Justice Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Deepankar Datta’s bench conducted the hearing. During the proceedings, the court emphasized that even if 10% of the people raise objections, the entire process will be halted. The Supreme Court stated that it will continue the hearing on April 18 on those petitions which demand counting of votes recorded in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) along with VVPATs.
What the Petitions Requested:
The petitioners urged the court to issue directives to the Election Commission and the central government to ensure that voters can verify that their votes have been accurately recorded through VVPAT. The petitions also requested the matching of EVMs with those votes that have been verified and to ensure that voters are capable of verifying their votes through VVPAT slips.
What is VVPAT:
Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is an independent system that verifies the accuracy of a vote by allowing the voter to see whether their vote has been cast for the intended candidate or not. Through this, a paper slip is generated by the machine, which the voter can verify, and this slip is then kept in a sealed envelope and can be opened in case of a dispute.
