New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a plea to revive paper balloting and 100 per cent cross-verification of votes cast on EVMs with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), saying that with the voting machines Suspicions regarding tampering were "unfounded". ,
As the country voted in the second round of the seven-phase 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the top court said electronic voting machines (EVMs) were "safe" and eliminated booth capturing and fraudulent voting.
In an intense debate on the EVM issue that has long divided political parties, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said the plea for a return to the ballot paper system was "meritless and frivolous", noting that the weakness of the system was well documented. Was. Known and documented. The two judges delivered two separate but unanimous verdicts.The court said, "It is important to maintain a balanced approach in evaluating the systems of institutions, but blindly distrusting any aspect of the system can give rise to unnecessary suspicion." The court said that democracy is based on harmony among all the institutions. And it's about trying to build trust.
The apex court's long-awaited decision was soon echoed across the electoral landscape, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking at a rally in Bihar's Araria saying it was a "slamming slap" on the Congress-led opposition, which is now " One must ask for forgiveness for committing a sin. To create distrust against EVMs. Hailing the decision, he claimed, “Their (opposition's) dreams have been shattered to pieces.,
The Congress, on its part, said in a post on Twitter that it will continue its political campaign on greater use of VVPATs to increase public confidence in the electoral process. The apex court also issued two directions in the EVM case.
The court opened a window for unsuccessful candidates securing second and third positions in the election results and allowed them to seek verification of microcontroller chips fitted in five percent of the EVMs in each assembly constituency on written request on payment of fees to the election panel. Gave.
It also directed that from May 1, the symbol loading units (SLUs) should be sealed and secured in a container and stored in a strongroom along with the EVMs for a minimum period of 45 days after the declaration of results. The court said that the request for verification of microcontroller can be made within seven days of the declaration of result after payment of fee."If EVMs are found to be tampered during verification, the fees paid by the candidates will be refunded."
An EVM consists of three units – Ballot Unit, Control Unit and VVPAT. All three are equipped with microcontrollers with the manufacturer's burnt memory. Currently, the Election Commission randomly matches VVPAT slips with EVMs at five polling stations in each assembly constituency. VVPAT is an independent vote verification system that enables voters to see whether their votes have been recorded correctly.The bench suggested that the Election Commission may examine whether electronic machines can be used for counting VVPAT slips and also whether bar codes can be used for parties with their symbols. .
It said that apart from demanding a return to the ballot paper system, the three petitions before it had prayed that VVPAT slips should be given to voters so that they can verify and put them in the ballot box for counting and 100 VVPAT slips should be issued. The percentage should be counted. “We have rejected all of them,” Justice Khanna said.
A few hours later, Prime Minister Modi mentioned the decision in his Arari rally.
"When Congress, RJD and other Indian block parties were in power, the poor, backward and Dalits were deprived of their votes through boot capture. With the introduction of electronic voting machines, they are now able to play their old game. Are not capable.game. Therefore, they committed the sin of creating distrust against EVMs,” he said. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal described the court's decision as "brilliant".
He said the verdict had exposed the opposition parties, including the Congress, which had left no opportunity to "defame" the Election Commission.
Writing a 38-page judgment on behalf of the bench, Justice Khanna said the inclusion of VVPAT strengthens the principle of vote verification, thereby enhancing the overall accountability of the electoral process.The court said that the possibility of hacking or tampering with unknown firmware in the burnt memory of EVMs to control/favor the results was baseless.
"Accordingly, the suspicion that EVMs can be configured/tampered for repeated or incorrect recording of votes in favor of a particular candidate should be rejected."
On the petitioners' claim that voting equipment could be tampered with to manipulate the results, the court said that frustration over repeated and persistent suspicions, even without evidence, "contrary Justice Dutta, who delivered a separate opinion concurring with Justice Khanna, came down hard on the PIL petitioners, saying it appeared that India's progress would be limited to any possible extent. There is a concerted effort being made to defame, belittle and undermine and any such efforts must be "destroyed". bud"
He said that in recent years, a tendency of some vested interest groups attempting to undermine the achievements and accomplishments of the nation is rapidly developing.Justice Dutta further said that the court cannot allow the entire process of the ongoing general elections to be questioned and rejected on the basis of apprehensions and speculations by the petitioners about the efficacy of EVMs. He said, "The mere doubt that While there may be a mismatch in the votes cast through EVMs, which may give rise to a demand for 100 per cent verification of VVPAT slips, this is not a sufficient basis to treat the present set of writ petitions as maintainable." ,
"A voting mechanism must maintain and adhere to the principles of security accountability and accuracy. An overly complex voting system can create doubt and uncertainty, thereby reducing the possibility of manipulation. In our considered opinion, EVMs are simple, "Voters, candidates and their representatives and ECI officials are aware of the intricacies of the EVM system and also check its integrity," the court said.,
The court also said that since 2019, the Election Commission of India has not, barring one discrepancy, found a single case of vote mismatch or incorrect recording of votes upon random VVPAT verification of five polling stations in each assembly constituency. It has been observed that giving physical access to VVPAT slips to voters is problematic and impractical and will lead to misuse, malpractices and disputes.
Election Commission officials said constitutional courts had on at least four occasions rejected petitions challenging the reliability of electronic voting machines.
The officials also referred to Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar's recent comment that EVMs are "100 per cent secure" and political parties know "in their hearts" that the machines are impartial. To enhance transparency and verifiability in the voting process, the VVPA machines The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 was amended in 2013 to introduce the use ofThey were used for the first time in the by-election of Noksen assembly seat of Nagaland.
As the country voted in the second round of the seven-phase 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the top court said electronic voting machines (EVMs) were "safe" and eliminated booth capturing and fraudulent voting.
In an intense debate on the EVM issue that has long divided political parties, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said the plea for a return to the ballot paper system was "meritless and frivolous", noting that the weakness of the system was well documented. Was. Known and documented. The two judges delivered two separate but unanimous verdicts.The court said, "It is important to maintain a balanced approach in evaluating the systems of institutions, but blindly distrusting any aspect of the system can give rise to unnecessary suspicion." The court said that democracy is based on harmony among all the institutions. And it's about trying to build trust.
The apex court's long-awaited decision was soon echoed across the electoral landscape, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking at a rally in Bihar's Araria saying it was a "slamming slap" on the Congress-led opposition, which is now " One must ask for forgiveness for committing a sin. To create distrust against EVMs. Hailing the decision, he claimed, “Their (opposition's) dreams have been shattered to pieces.,
The Congress, on its part, said in a post on Twitter that it will continue its political campaign on greater use of VVPATs to increase public confidence in the electoral process. The apex court also issued two directions in the EVM case.
The court opened a window for unsuccessful candidates securing second and third positions in the election results and allowed them to seek verification of microcontroller chips fitted in five percent of the EVMs in each assembly constituency on written request on payment of fees to the election panel. Gave.
It also directed that from May 1, the symbol loading units (SLUs) should be sealed and secured in a container and stored in a strongroom along with the EVMs for a minimum period of 45 days after the declaration of results. The court said that the request for verification of microcontroller can be made within seven days of the declaration of result after payment of fee."If EVMs are found to be tampered during verification, the fees paid by the candidates will be refunded."
An EVM consists of three units – Ballot Unit, Control Unit and VVPAT. All three are equipped with microcontrollers with the manufacturer's burnt memory. Currently, the Election Commission randomly matches VVPAT slips with EVMs at five polling stations in each assembly constituency. VVPAT is an independent vote verification system that enables voters to see whether their votes have been recorded correctly.The bench suggested that the Election Commission may examine whether electronic machines can be used for counting VVPAT slips and also whether bar codes can be used for parties with their symbols. .
It said that apart from demanding a return to the ballot paper system, the three petitions before it had prayed that VVPAT slips should be given to voters so that they can verify and put them in the ballot box for counting and 100 VVPAT slips should be issued. The percentage should be counted. “We have rejected all of them,” Justice Khanna said.
A few hours later, Prime Minister Modi mentioned the decision in his Arari rally.
"When Congress, RJD and other Indian block parties were in power, the poor, backward and Dalits were deprived of their votes through boot capture. With the introduction of electronic voting machines, they are now able to play their old game. Are not capable.game. Therefore, they committed the sin of creating distrust against EVMs,” he said. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal described the court's decision as "brilliant".
He said the verdict had exposed the opposition parties, including the Congress, which had left no opportunity to "defame" the Election Commission.
Writing a 38-page judgment on behalf of the bench, Justice Khanna said the inclusion of VVPAT strengthens the principle of vote verification, thereby enhancing the overall accountability of the electoral process.The court said that the possibility of hacking or tampering with unknown firmware in the burnt memory of EVMs to control/favor the results was baseless.
"Accordingly, the suspicion that EVMs can be configured/tampered for repeated or incorrect recording of votes in favor of a particular candidate should be rejected."
On the petitioners' claim that voting equipment could be tampered with to manipulate the results, the court said that frustration over repeated and persistent suspicions, even without evidence, "contrary Justice Dutta, who delivered a separate opinion concurring with Justice Khanna, came down hard on the PIL petitioners, saying it appeared that India's progress would be limited to any possible extent. There is a concerted effort being made to defame, belittle and undermine and any such efforts must be "destroyed". bud"
He said that in recent years, a tendency of some vested interest groups attempting to undermine the achievements and accomplishments of the nation is rapidly developing.Justice Dutta further said that the court cannot allow the entire process of the ongoing general elections to be questioned and rejected on the basis of apprehensions and speculations by the petitioners about the efficacy of EVMs. He said, "The mere doubt that While there may be a mismatch in the votes cast through EVMs, which may give rise to a demand for 100 per cent verification of VVPAT slips, this is not a sufficient basis to treat the present set of writ petitions as maintainable." ,
"A voting mechanism must maintain and adhere to the principles of security accountability and accuracy. An overly complex voting system can create doubt and uncertainty, thereby reducing the possibility of manipulation. In our considered opinion, EVMs are simple, "Voters, candidates and their representatives and ECI officials are aware of the intricacies of the EVM system and also check its integrity," the court said.,
The court also said that since 2019, the Election Commission of India has not, barring one discrepancy, found a single case of vote mismatch or incorrect recording of votes upon random VVPAT verification of five polling stations in each assembly constituency. It has been observed that giving physical access to VVPAT slips to voters is problematic and impractical and will lead to misuse, malpractices and disputes.
Election Commission officials said constitutional courts had on at least four occasions rejected petitions challenging the reliability of electronic voting machines.
The officials also referred to Chief Election Commissioner Rajeev Kumar's recent comment that EVMs are "100 per cent secure" and political parties know "in their hearts" that the machines are impartial. To enhance transparency and verifiability in the voting process, the VVPA machines The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 was amended in 2013 to introduce the use ofThey were used for the first time in the by-election of Noksen assembly seat of Nagaland.
