00:00 The SCI on Monday took a significant step by soliciting responses from the Election
00:07 Commission and Central Government regarding a crucial petition advocating for a comprehensive
00:13 count of the voter-verifiable paper audit trial, also known as the VVPAT slips, during
00:18 elections.
00:20 This move challenges the current practice of randomly verifying the only five electronic
00:25 voting machine, EVM, via VVPAT paper slips.
00:30 The VVPAT serves as an independent mechanism for voters to authenticate their casted vote,
00:35 allowing them to verify if their choices were actually and accurately registered.
00:41 Essentially, it also generates a paper slip that mirrors the voter's selection, which
00:45 is then secured for potential review in case of discrepancies.
00:50 In a prior ruling in 2019, the Supreme Court had directed the Election Commission to increase
00:54 VVPAT verification from one to five EVMs per assembly segment in parliamentary constituencies.
01:01 Acknowledging the argument presented by lawyers representing activist Arun Kumar Agarwal,
01:05 the bench comprising Justice B R Gawai and Sandeep Mehta issued notice to Election Commission
01:10 and Central Government over the plea.
01:13 Agarwal's plea advocated for a complete tally of the VVPAT slip during elections challenging
01:17 the current method of sequentially verifying only five randomly chosen EVM using VVPAT
01:23 paper slips.
01:24 Senior lawyers representing Agarwal contended that if simultaneous verification is conducted
01:29 with increased officer deployment for each counting in assembly constituency, the VVPAT
01:34 verification can be expedited with a reasonable time frame of five to six hours.
01:40 The petition highlighted that despite substantial government expenditure on procuring nearly
01:44 24 lakh VVPATs, the current practice verifies VVPAT slip from only 20,000 VVPAT machines.
01:51 It also highlights that it expects concern regarding the reliability of EVM and VVPAT,
01:57 citing past instances of discrepancies between their vote counts.
02:01 In light of these concerns, the petition emphasised the imperative counting of all VVPAT slips
02:06 and suggested a practical solution of allowing voters to physically deposit their VVPAT slip
02:11 in the ballot box, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the electoral process.
02:17 The next hearing is now on 17th May and it holds promise for further deliberation and
02:22 potential reform in India's electoral procedure.
02:25 Also, it will be more interesting to see if these measures are implemented in the general
02:31 elections of 2024, which will be ongoing during the time of next hearing.
02:36 [END]
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