The Supreme Court has given Electronic Voting Machines, or EVMs, a big vote of confidence. A two-judge bench rejected petitions seeking 100 per cent verification of votes cast on EVMs using the VVPAT, or Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail. “We have discussed, elaborately, all protocols and technical aspects (and) we reject all pleas. Blindly distrusting a system can lead to unwarranted suspicions,” Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sanjiv Khanna said, while also rejecting a plea to return to paper ballots.

The court did, however, pass two directions to the Election Commission in this regard. The first was that after completing loading of symbols into the machine, the SLU, or symbol loading unit, should be sealed and stored for a period of at least 45 days.Specifically, the court said “on completion of symbol loading process in EVM, undertaken on or after June 1 (the final phase of polling), the SLU should be sealed and secured…”

The SLU storage containers must be sealed and the seal is to be signed by candidates. The sealed containers containing the SLUs shall be kept in storerooms, with the EVMs, (for) at least for 45 days post declaration of results, the court explained.