BREAKING: SC DIRECTS ECI TO INCREASE VVPAT VERIFICATION FROM ONE EVM TO FIVE EVMS PER CONSTITUENCY

-
Breaking: SC Directs ECI To Increase VVPAT Verification From One EVM To Five EVMs Per Constituency

The Supreme Court today ordered the Election Commission of India to increase the verification of Voter Verified Paper Trail(VVPAT) from one Electronic Voting Machine(EVM) per constituency to 5 randomly selected EVMs in a constituency.

"We have interacted with the EC officials. At the outset we would like to observe we are not doubting It may be possible that the system gives accurate results. But if the number increases , it would increase the greater satisfaction - the endeavour is to find to find a viable number of VVPAT", said the CJI in the order.

The order has come in a PIL filed by leaders of 21 opposition political parties, demanding counting and cross verification of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPAT) in at least 50% (randomly chosen) of all polling stations within each Assembly Segment/ Constituency. The petition also challenges the decision of ECI to verify VVPAT of only one randomly selected booth of a constituency. The petitioners say that this will account only for 0.44% of the votes polled. This guideline defeats the entire purpose of VVPAT and makes the same "ornamental" without actual substance, they stated.


The Election Commission filed counter-affidavit in the matter pointing out logistical difficulties in carrying out 50% verification of VVPAT. This will delay the announcement of results by at least 6 days, said the ECI.

"It is therefore submitted 50% VVPAT slip verification in each assembly segment of a Parliamentary Constituency or Assembly Constituency on an average shall enlarge the time required for counting to about 6 days. It is also relevant to mention that in many Assembly Constituencies, there are more than 400 polling stations, which will require about 8-9 days to complete the VVPAT slip count.", stated the affidavit filed by the poll panel.


Earlier, the bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had required the Commission to reply whether it is possible to increase the VVPAT sample survey in every assembly segment.


The Commission has explained that the VVPAT slip is displayed to the voter through a transparent window in the Electronic Voting Machine for about 7 seconds after the casting of vote. Therefore, the voter can verify his vote then and there itself. The necessity of counting the printed paper slips would only arise if there is any discrepancy between the results as shown by the EVM and as reflected on the printed paper slip, submitted the ECI.


The poll panel has also submitted that no foul play was detected while using VVPAT during 2017 assembly elections.


VVPAT is a paper slip generated by the Electronic Voting Machine everytime a voter casts his vote, recording the party to whom the vote was made. This is kept in a sealed cover to be opened only in case of a future dispute.


The ECI had informed the Court in 2017 that VVPAT will be used 100% in future elections. However, the decision taken by the ECI in July 2018 was to verify VVPAT of a randomly selected polling station from a constituency.

Source:www.livelaw.in


MANISHANKAR
CEO-ANTI-CORRUPTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS MOVEMENT®-CHENNAI
Email: anticorruption.org2007@gmail.com.
Mobile: 91 9087856137

Follow us on:

twitter : @anticorp_2007  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW SERIES-25 [The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993]

-
Image
ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW SERIES-25 The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 S.No Dear development leaders promote activities such as :- (All forms of corruption must be ended to secure the basic rights of all people and ensure a world where everyone can live in dignity) 1. Organize, communicate, and raise awareness on Anti corruption laws to your target people. 2. Identify the victims and witnesses of corruption in your working area 3. Identify the need of Legal consultancy for Consumer rights, women’s rights, Child rights, aged rights, revenue, education, documents registration, social welfare, public and temple property panchayat, forest, insurance, and all government department corruptions related issues etc 4. Contact for such issues with an affidavit and we will make the difference We also know that corruption can’t be rooted out in one big sweep. Rather, fighting it is a step-by-step, project-by-project process. MANISHANKAR...
Read more

ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW SERIES-36 [Right to Disconnect Bill, 2018]

-
Image
ANTI-CORRUPTION LAW SERIES-36  Right to Disconnect Bill, 2018 S.No Dear development leaders promote activities such as :- (All forms of corruption must be ended to secure the basic rights of all people and ensure a world where everyone can live in dignity) 1. Organize, communicate, and raise awareness on Anti corruption laws to your target people. 2. Identify the victims and witnesses of corruption in your working area 3. Identify the need of Legal consultancy for Consumer rights, women’s rights, Child rights, aged rights, revenue, education, documents registration, social welfare, public and temple property panchayat, forest, insurance, and all government department corruptions related issues etc 4. Contact for such issues with an affidavit and we will make the difference We also know that corruption can’t be rooted out in one big sweep. Rather, fighting it is a step-by-step, project-by-project process. MANISHANKAR C...
Read more

THE WEEK IN CORRUPTION, 7 JUNE 2019- FROM TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL

-
Image
The Week In Corruption, 7 June 2019- From Transparency International Hi, A medieval Czech legend has it that King Wenceslas will return from the dead with a group of knights to save the Czech people in their darkest hour. Luckily, that wasn’t necessary this week: instead, citizens took it upon themselves to stand up for change when more than  120 thousand of them gathered  on the square named after King Wenceslas in Prague calling for Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to resign. The protests came after the European Commission (EC)  confirmed  Babiš’s significant conflicts of interest regarding his private businesses, following the  complaint  from our chapter, TI Czech Republic (TI-CZ). Already last year, TI-CZ revealed that one of Babiš’s many companies, Agrofert, had received millions in EU agricultural subsidies. In 2017, Babiš had put the company into two trust funds but remained the ultimate beneficiary of these funds, hiding behind an additional ...
Read more