Succeeded on merits but grievance unresolved, Opposition leaders file Review petition for increased VVPAT verification

Twenty-one opposition leaders have moved the Supreme Court seeking a review of the Court’s order in the plea relating to verification of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) of EVM Machines..In its order passed on April 8, just days before the first phase of voting for Lok Sabha elections, a Supreme Court Bench led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi had directed the Election Commission to increase the number of EVMs cross verified with VVPAT to five EVMs per Assembly Segment/ Assembly Constituency..The petitioners have now sought a review of this order..The practice in place was to verify VVPAT of one EVM machine per Assembly segment/ Assembly constituency. The petitioners had sought verification of VVPAT of at least 50 percent of EVM machines. The Court had, however, directed an increase from one machine to five..In their review petition, the petitioners have now contended that while they succeeded on the merits of their contentions, their grievance is still not resolved with the marginal increase as directed by the Court. The petition states,.“The Petitioners submit that the aforesaid increase to a mere 2 % is not sufficient and will not make any substantial difference to the situation that existed prior to the passing of the impugned order. Therefore, even though the Petitioners have succeeded on the merits of their contention, their success does not resolve their grievance or cause any meaningful change to the situation that they were originally aggrieved of.”.The petition also states that the Court had itself desired greater satisfaction and confidence of the people in the electoral process. However, the increased figure of a mere five machines does not serve the purpose “desired by this Hon’ble Court itself.”.Since the Court agreed with the contentions of the petitioners and held that VVPAT verification of EVMs ought to be increased, the number to which this increase was made should have been a substantial one so as to make this process “a real, effective, and meaningful one”, the petition adds..The petition also cites cases of faulty EVMs and reported instances of law and order problems during the polling as grounds that call for a greater number of EVMs to be subjected to VVPAT verification. The petitioners have therefore sought a review of the Court’s order of April 8 “to ensure that the “greater satisfaction” that this Hon’ble Court has itself desired is actually met in letter and spirit”.Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.