Supreme Court to hear opposition plea for 50% VVPAT verification on 7 May
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 7 May, was to hear a review petition by leaders of 21 opposition parties seeking a further increase in the random matching of VVPAT paper slips with electronic voting machines in the ongoing general election.
Leaders present in court included Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, who is leading the opposition effort, Farooq Abdullah, a former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, and D Raja of the CPI.
The 8 April order
On 8 April the court directed the Election Commission to raise the verification of voter-verified paper audit trail slips from one EVM per Assembly segment to five randomly chosen machines. The VVPAT slips of those five EVMs in each segment are to be counted physically.
The court said the step was meant to ensure the greatest possible accuracy and satisfaction in the election process. It came on a petition by the same opposition leaders, who had wanted verification extended to 50 percent of EVMs in each Assembly segment.
Why the opposition sought a review
The order was seen as a setback for the opposition parties, because it raised paper-trail verification by only 1.99 percent. Of a total of 10.35 lakh EVMs, only 20,625 would be used to cross-check results during counting. The review plea asked the court to go further and order a larger sample.
See also: election news and elections.
Originally published on 7 May 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.
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