New Delhi. EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) is very important in the Indian election system. Questions have been raised regarding this from time to time. A petition was filed in the Supreme Court regarding the use of EVMs in elections. The petitioners had demanded 100 percent matching of votes cast from EVMs with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). The Supreme Court gave its historic decision on Friday while disposing of the petitions related to this. A two-judge bench of the apex court has rejected the petitions related to this. However, the Supreme Court has given a big decision and has ordered the verification of votes at the expense of the candidates. The court also said that in case EVM tampering is found, the money of the candidates will have to be returned.
The bench of Justice Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Dipankar Dutta has given a historic verdict on the petitions related to EVM-VVPAT. The bench has ordered to keep the Symbol Loading Unit (SLU) safe for 45 days. The court said that questions cannot be raised on a ready-made system blindly. The Supreme Court said that a balanced approach is important, but doubting a system can create confusion. It should be criticized meaningfully. The court further said that harmony and trust have to be maintained between all the pillars of democracy including the judiciary and the legislature. Justice Dipankar Dutta said that we can strengthen the voice of our democracy by promoting a culture of trust and cooperation.
Voting will be done through EVM only, ballot paper will not be returned…Election Commission gets relief from Supreme Court, all petitions on VVPAT rejected
Vote verification at candidates’ expense
A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court has given a historic decision regarding vote verification. The court said that if a candidate demands verification, then in that case its expenses should be recovered from him. But, if any tampering is found in the EVM then the money of the concerned candidate should be returned. The court has directed that after the completion of the process of Symbol Loading Unit, it should be sealed. SLU has also been ordered to be kept safe for 45 days after voting.
EVM checking
The Supreme Court also directed that candidates will have the option to get the microcontroller program of the EVM checked by the technical team after the declaration of results. This can be done within 7 days of the announcement of elections. Candidates coming second and third will be able to do this. Justice Sanjiv Khanna asked the Election Commission to look into the suggestion of electronic machines for counting paper slips and also see if there could be a barcode for each party along with the election symbol.
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Tags: EVM, Supreme Court, VVPAT
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 26, 2024, 11:46 IST