Supreme Court issues three directions as it rejects petitions seeking 100% verification of EVM votes

New Delhi [India], April 26 : After the Supreme Court on Friday rejected all the petitions seeking 100 per cent verification of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) votes with their Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips, Public Interest Lawyer and Activist, Prashant Bhushan said the Supreme Court has given three directions while disposing of the petition.
Talking to the reporters, Prashant Bhushan said that in the petition, they had mentioned about a programmable memory in the EVMs which can be manipulated if a malicious programme is uploaded. "We said that the EVMs have a programmable memory because symbol loading takes place and that is why they can be manipulated if you uploaded a malicious program. That is why, it is essential that the paper trail audit of VVPAT is done and all VVPAT slips are counted."
He further added, "Since black glass was installed even in VVPATs, we were requesting that it be replaced with transparent glass or the slip be handed over to the voter and then put in a ballot box so that it can be counted later."
Bhushan informed that the Supreme Court rejected all the demands, "The Supreme Court said that if a barcode is put on all ballot paper, then examine if it can be mechanically counted by machine."
"They also said that the Symbol Loading Unit should also be sealed for at least 45 days after elections so that if a petition is filed and court orders something, it can be taken care of," he said
Bhushan added, "The third thing that they have said is that every second or third candidate can make a demand for examining the burnt memory of the EVM... The cost of that examination will have to be paid by the candidate. With these directions, the court has disposed of the petition."
The apex court also rejected the prayers of petitioners to return to ballot paper voting. The two-judge bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta delivered a unanimous verdict.