In today’s session at the Supreme Court, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal brought up the issue concerning the cross-verification of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) data with Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) records. The Court announced that it will address this matter in two weeks’ time.
The mention was made before Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who presided over a Special Bench today alongside Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Bela M Trivedi. Sibal urged that the hearing be scheduled for the following Tuesday. Initially, the petitions were slated for today’s hearing but were not listed due to Justice Khanna leading the Special Bench.
Backing Sibal’s request, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankarayanarayan highlighted the impending Lok Sabha elections.
In response, Justice Khanna acknowledged the time sensitivity and expressed the Court’s initial intention to expedite the hearing. However, due to the current roster, the matter might be omitted from the list next week. Ultimately, the judge stated that the case would likely be heard the following week, allowing ample time for the counsels.
During the proceedings, Justice Khanna also conversed with Advocate on Record Prashant Bhushan, questioning the timeframe required for reaching a decision. Despite initial hopes for expediency, the judge assured that the matter would be addressed promptly, ensuring sufficient time for deliberation. For a comprehensive overview of earlier developments, refer to previous proceedings.
Just two days ago, a bench headed by Justice BR Gavai issued notices on another petition advocating for 100% verification of VVPAT slips. The petitioners, including NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, contend that all VVPATs should undergo verification, contrasting the current practice of random verification of 5 EVMs per assembly segment by the Election Commission of India. The petitioners also seek measures to guarantee that voters’ ballots are accurately recorded and counted.
