SC asks Centre to examine feasibility of totaliser machines for EVMs

The Supreme Court directed the Centre to examine the feasibility of using totaliser machines for counting EVM votes. This aims to protect voter secrecy at polling stations and prevent post-poll intimidation by masking booth-wise voting patterns.

SC Directs Centre to Examine Totaliser Feasibility

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to examine the feasibility of introducing totaliser machines for counting votes cast through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), with the objective of protecting the secrecy of voting patterns at individual polling stations.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana asked the Central government to consider whether totalisers could be introduced to prevent the voting pattern of individual polling booths from being identified and voters from being subjected to intimidation or victimisation after elections.

The court was hearing a petition seeking the introduction of totaliser machines for counting votes. A totaliser aggregates votes from multiple EVMs before the results are disclosed. This prevents the results from being revealed on a polling-station-wise basis and makes it difficult to determine how voters at a particular booth voted.

Petitioner Yogesh Gupta, represented by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, submitted that the mechanism could help protect voters from post-poll threats, intimidation and violence.

Election Commission Highlights Practical Hurdles

During the hearing, the Election Commission of India, represented by senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, said it supported the objective of protecting voter anonymity but highlighted practical and legal difficulties associated with introducing totalisers.

Naidu pointed out that candidates and their polling agents currently receive copies of Form 17C, which records the votes polled at each polling station. The Form 17C data allows candidates and their polling agents to cross-check the EVM results during the counting process. According to the Election Commission, aggregating votes from multiple polling stations could make such booth-wise verification difficult.

The ECI also raised concerns regarding the reconciliation of EVM results with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips in the event that votes from multiple polling stations are aggregated.

The Commission informed the court that it had previously recommended the introduction of totalisers. However, the proposal was subsequently opposed by a government-appointed expert committee.

Court's Concluding Directives

The Chief Justice observed that the Commission's present position appeared to highlight implementation-related difficulties rather than reject the underlying concept of totalisation.

The bench subsequently directed the Union government to examine the feasibility of introducing totaliser machines for vote counting. The court also asked the Centre to consider whether the Conduct of Elections Rules could be amended to facilitate the introduction of the system. The government was further directed to examine Rule 59A of the Conduct of Elections Rules and the Law Commission's recommendation on totalisation contained in its 255th Report while considering the issue.

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