Recently, the Supreme Court announced that it would soon address petitions for 100% verification of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips, just ahead of the first phase of voting on 19th April 2024.The VVPAT machine is attached to the ballot unit of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), and provides visual verification for the vote cast by a voter by printing a slip of paper with the voter’s choice on it.
The slip of paper with the candidate’s details is briefly displayed for verification behind a glass window, giving the voter 7 seconds, before dropping into a compartment below.Voters are not allowed to take the VVPAT slip home as it is used to verify votes in five randomly selected polling booths.The concept aims to enhance trust in the voting process by enabling physical verification of electronically cast votes, reassuring both voters and political parties about the accuracy of their votes.
Reason for Introduction
- The concept of the VVPAT machine was initially proposed in 2010 during a meeting between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and political parties to enhance transparency in the EVM-based polling process.
- Following prototype preparation, field trials were conducted in Ladakh, Thiruvananthapuram, Cherrapunjee, East Delhi, and Jaisalmer in July 2011.
- It led to the approval of VVPAT by an expert committee of the ECI in February 2013.
Legal Aspect
- In 2013, the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 were amended to allow for a printer with a drop box to be attached to the EVM.
- The VVPAT was first used in all 21 polling stations of the Noksen Assembly constituency of Nagaland in 2013, leading to its phased introduction decided by the ECI, with 100% adoption by June 2017.
Supreme Court’s Views on VVPAT
- In Subramanian Swamy vs Election Commission of India Case, 2013, the Supreme Court mandating VVPATs for transparent elections, compelling government funding for their implementation.
- In 2019, a petition was moved to the SC asking for a minimum 50% randomised VVPAT slips to be counted.
- However, the Election Commission of India (ECI) raised concerns regarding the challenges posed by counting 50% of VVPAT slips, including a potential delay of 5-6 days in declaring election results and infrastructure limitations such as the availability of manpower.