Supreme Court Dismisses Plea for Full Manual VVPAT Verification

The Supreme Court has declined to entertain a petition seeking a directive to the Election Commission for complete manual counting of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail slips alongside electronic counting via the control unit. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K V Viswanathan, addressed the plea filed by Hans Raj Jain challenging the Delhi High Court's judgment from August 12, 2024.

The petitioner contended that the current practice of verifying VVPAT slips from only a select number of polling stations does not sufficiently ensure the accuracy and transparency of the electoral process. He argued that a 100% manual count of VVPAT slips is essential to bolster voter confidence and uphold the integrity of elections.

In response, the Election Commission maintained that the existing system, which includes random verification of VVPAT slips from five polling stations per assembly constituency, is robust and reliable. The Commission emphasized that expanding the manual counting process to encompass all VVPAT slips would be logistically challenging and could introduce human errors, thereby potentially compromising the efficiency and accuracy of the electoral process.