SC directs to increase VVPAT Audit | Fusion - WeRIndia

In order to improve the satisfaction of voters and political parties, the Supreme Court on Monday directed to increase the number of EVMs for physical VVPAT counting from one to five polling stations per seat with immediate effect.

The change would be rolled out during the coming Lok Sabha elections. The Court directed the ECI to make all the necessary arrangements to implement the directions of the Court immediately.

The current practice is counting in one polling station which takes about an hour for election officers. If the polling stations are increased, then the counting time would be increased, as a result, the declaration of result would be late to that extent, says the EC.

The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi yesterday directed the EC to hike the VVPATs saying that it should not cause much delay in the declaration of result.

One hour for polling station means five hours for five polling stations, so it won’t cause much delay, says the Apex Court.

The Court clarified that this order was not a commentary on any deficiency in the existing system.

It expressed satisfaction with the current system. Yet, the bench maintained that it is essential to increase the number of EVMs for physical verification with the paper audit trails to improve the satisfaction of the electoral process.

The Court directed that the EVMs would be picked up randomly and five officials from the EC should carry out this direction effectively.

The Court order came on a petition of 21 opposition parties seeking 50 per cent of the EVMs be matched with VVPATs.

EC had responded unfavorably to this petition saying that the result would be delayed if the counting of VVPATs is increased. It also said that more counting means more chances of errors due to the involvement of humans.

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