Supreme Court junks plea for 100% manual counting of VVPAT slips during polls

The Supreme Court rejected the pleas seeking 100% cross-verification of electronic voting machines (EVMs) data with VVPAT records. File

The Supreme Court on Monday (April 7, 2025) refused to examine a plea seeking a direction to the Election Commission of India for a 100% manual counting of voter verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips in addition to electronic counting by the control unit.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and K.V. Viswanathan was dealing with the plea of one Hans Raj Jain against the August 12, 2024 judgment of the Delhi High Court on the issue.

“We do not find any good ground to interfere with the impugned judgment [of the Delhi High Court]. The special leave petition is dismissed,” the CJI said, dismissing his appeal.

The CJI said an Supreme Court Bench led by him had passed a judgment raising similar issues previously, and it couldn’t be agitated again and again.

Rejecting the pleas seeking 100% cross-verification of electronic voting machines (EVMs) data with VVPAT records, the Supreme Court then held EVMs were safe, simple, secure, and user-friendly.

The Delhi High Court on August 12, last year referred to Supreme Court judgments and dismissed Mr. Jain’s plea. It subsequently rejected a plea seeking the review of its verdict.

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Mr. Jain sought directions to the election commission to use “appropriate prototype of VVPAT system in future, in which the printer is kept open and the printed ballot, which gets cut and falls out of the printer, is subject to verification by the voter, before providing the same to a presiding officer before leaving the polling station”.

There should be 100% counting of the VVPAT slips in addition to electronic counting by the control unit, he added.

The poll panel had informed the high court that the issue was fully covered by the judgment of the Supreme Court in the Association for Democratic Reforms v. Election Commission of India.

Referring to the Supreme Court’s verdict, the High Court said the issue raised in the plea was no longer res integra. “Accordingly, the present writ petition and application are dismissed,” it added.