SC no to 100% match of VVPAT slips, says can’t override CJI order

New Delhi, May 21

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a PIL seeking 100 per cent matching of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the counting of votes on May 23 for Lok Sabha polls.

A Vacation Bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra refused to entertain the plea filed by Chennai-based organisation ‘Tech 4 All’, saying that a larger Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had already dealt with the matter and passed an order.

“The CJI had dealt with this matter. Why are you taking chance before a two-judge Vacation Bench?” the apex court asked. “We cannot override the CJI’s order... This is nonsense. The petition is taken on board. Dismissed,” Justice Mishra said. The apex court had on May 7 dismissed a review plea filed by 21 Opposition leaders seeking that random matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs be increased to 50 per cent.

The top court had on April 8 directed the Election Commission to increase random matching of VVPAT slips with EVMs from one to five polling booths per Assembly segment in the Lok Sabha polls, saying it would provide greater satisfaction not just to political parties, but also to the entire electorate. — PTI

Plea against WB poll observers junked

• The SC refused to entertain a plea challenging the appointment of two retired bureaucrats as observers in West Bengal, saying the voting was already over

• Vivek Dubey was central police observer for WB and Jharkhand, while Ajay Nayak was a special observer for West Bengal.

• The petition alleged that they had been appointed in contravention of the law to ensure ‘certain favours’ in election