New Delhi: Terming the suspicion of manipulation of the EVMs “unfounded”, the Supreme Court on Friday rejected the demand for reverting to the old paper ballot system, saying the polling devices were “secure” and eliminate booth capturing and bogus voting.
However, the top court opened a window for aggrieved unsuccessful candidates securing second and third places in poll results and allowed them to seek verification of microcontroller chips embedded in five per cent Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) per assembly constituency on a written request upon payment of a fee to the poll panel.
It directed that from May 1, the symbol loading units (SLU) should be sealed and secured in a container and stored in a strongroom along with the EVMs for a minimum period of 45 days post-declaration of results.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, which dismissed the PILs seeking a return to the ballot paper system, said repeated and persistent doubts and despair, even without supporting evidence, can have the “contrarian impact of creating distrust”.
“A voting mechanism must uphold and adhere to the principles of security, accountability, and accuracy. An over complex voting system may engender doubt and uncertainty, thereby easing the chances of manipulation. In our considered opinion, the EVMs are simple, secure and user-friendly. The voters, candidates and their representatives, and the officials of the ECI are aware of the nitty-gritty of the EVM system. They also check and ensure righteousness and integrity,” the bench said.
It said the possibility of hacking or tampering with the agnostic firmware in the burnt memory of EVMs to tutor or favour results is unfounded.
“Accordingly, the suspicion that the EVMs can be configured or manipulated for repeated or wrong recording of vote(s) to favour a particular candidate should be rejected,” the bench said.
Penning a 38-page verdict on behalf of the bench, Justice Khanna said the incorporation of the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), an independent vote verification system which enables electors to see whether their votes have been recorded correctly, fortifies the principle of vote verifiability, thereby enhancing the overall accountability of the electoral process.
Justice Datta, who gave his separate opinion while concurring with Justice Khanna, came down heavily on PIL petitioners, saying there seems to be a concerted effort to discredit, diminish and weaken India’s progress on every possible frontier and any such attempt has to be “nipped in the bud”.
He said in recent years, a trend has been fast developing of certain vested interest groups endeavouring to undermine the achievements and accomplishments of the nation.
Justice Datta said the court cannot allow the entire process of the ongoing general elections to be called into question and upended on mere apprehension and speculation of the petitioners regarding the efficacy of EVMs.
The bench said it must reject as “foible and unsound” the submission of petitioners to return to the ballot paper system as the weakness of the ballot paper system is well-known and documented.
It added that in the Indian context, keeping in view the vast size of the electorate of nearly 97 crore, the number of candidates who contest the elections, the number of polling booths and the problems faced with ballot papers, the court would be undoing the electoral reforms by directing the reintroduction of ballot papers.
“EVMs offer significant advantages. They have effectively eliminated booth capturing by restricting the rate of vote casting to four votes per minute, thereby prolonging the time needed and thus check insertion of bogus votes,” it said, adding that EVMs have eliminated invalid votes, which were a major issue with paper ballots and had often sparked disputes during the counting process.
The bench asked the ECI to look into the suggestions for the use of counting machines for VVPAT slips and the barcoding of the symbols loaded in the VVPATs.
“Repeated and persistent doubts and despair, even without supporting evidence, can have the contrarian impact of creating distrust. This can reduce citizen participation and confidence in elections, essential for a healthy and robust democracy. Unfounded challenges may actually reveal perceptions and predispositions, whereas this court, as an arbiter and adjudicator of disputes and challenges, must render decisions on facts based on evidence and data,” it said.
It said imagination and suppositions should not lead the court to hypothesize wrongdoing without any basis or facts.
“The credibility of the ECI (Election Commission of India) and integrity of the electoral process earned over years cannot be chaffed and over-ridden by baroque contemplations and speculations,” it said.
Rejecting the allegation of reprogramming and hacking of EVMs by petitioners including the NGO ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’, the bench said, “To us, it is apparent that a number of safeguards and protocols with stringent checks have been put in place. Data and figures do not indicate artifice and deceit. Reprogramming by flashing, even if we assume is remotely possible, is inhibited by the strict control and checks put in place.”
The seven-phase Lok Sabha polls began on April 19 and will conclude with the announcement of results on June 4.
