Supreme Court Asks If Voters Can Get VVPAT Slip, Poll Body Flags Big Risk

There has to be sanctity in the electoral process, the Supreme Court told the Election Commission of India today, asking the poll body to explain in detail the steps followed to ensure free and fair polls. "This is (an) electoral process. There has to be sanctity. Let nobody have apprehension that something which is expected is not being done," the bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta said.

The court is hearing petitions seeking cross-verification of votes cast on Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) with paper slips generated through the VVPAT system. Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, the poll body's counsel, and poll officials are in court to respond to the questions.

Appearing for one of the petitioners, Advocate Nizam Pasha said a voter should be allowed to take the VVPAT slip after he votes and deposit it in a ballot box. When Justice Khanna asked if such a process won't affect the voter's privacy, Mr Pasha replied, "Voter privacy cannot be used to defeat voter's rights."