Supreme Court Gives Verdict — EVMs are safe

Source-This post on Supreme Court Gives Verdict — EVMs are safe has been created based on the article “Express View: Message from Supreme Court — EVMs are safe” published in “The Indian Express” on 27 April 2024.

UPSC Syllabus-GS Paper-2– Salient Features of the Representation of People’s Act.

News-The Supreme court in Association of Democratic Reforms vs Election Commission of India and Anr case has rejected all pleas that were seeking 100% EVM-VVPAT verification. The verdict emphasized the importance of balanced perspective when assessing systems or institutions, warning against blind distrust as it can hinder progress.

Context– Many oppositions political parties demanded 100% recount of all VVPATs, instead of the current method of sampling the number of recounts, to have full transparency. Supreme Court Gives Verdict — EVMs are safe

Read more- EVM-Demand for 100% recount of all VVPATs

What are the directives issued by the Supreme Court in this case?

1) The Symbol Uploading Units (SULs) must be stored in a secure room for 45 days after the results are announced. Like EVMs, they can also be inspected and reviewed.

2) If any candidate comes second or third, they can request for EVMs in their area to be checked. In case of such a request, 5 % of machines per assembly segment will be examined.

What steps have the Election Commission of India taken to assuage the concerns about safety of EVMs?

1) The Election Commission of India has assuaged these concerns constantly, including by holding hackathons.

2) The ECI has introduced the VVPAT system to ensure a paper trail to test machines after the Supreme Court’s verdict in 2012.

What is the significance of the Supreme court’s recent judgement?

1) It has put in place interventions that would dispel doubts about the integrity of India’s voting system.

A) The directive on mandatory storage of Symbol Uploading Units (SULs) will ensure that votes have not been miscounted.

B) Rechecking of EVMs allows a window to address the legitimate concerns of contesting candidates.

2) The judgement will affirm the credibility of India’s voting process.

Question for practice

What interventions have been put in place by the Supreme Courts to dispel doubts about the integrity of India’s voting system?