After seeking technical clarification from the Election Commission (EC), the Supreme Court on Wednesday, 24 April reserved its judgment on cross-checking all votes.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta was hearing a batch of petitions that sought complete cross-verification of votes cast through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with the Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips.
VVPAT is an independent vote verification system which enables a voter to check if their vote has been cast properly and went to the candidate that they chose. It does so by generating a paper slip, which is kept in a sealed cover and can be opened in case of a dispute.
Currently, VVPAT slips of five randomly selected EVMs in every Assembly segment are verified.
“Let us see what can be done, if any safeguards needed, we will see what is needed to strengthen the current system,” the apex court observed, according to The Indian Express.