Treat as representation PIL for inspecting VVPAT paper slips of 2019 LS polls, HC tells EC

The Delhi High Court asked Election Commission on Monday to treat as representation a PIL seeking inspection of VVPAT slips of electronic voting machines (EVMs) of all constituencies in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

With the direction, a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar disposed of the petition which had sought inspection of the Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) of EVMs claiming that according to data put up by the EC on its website there was "discrepancy" in votes polled and votes counted in around 373 constituencies.

The petitioner, Hans Raj Jain, contended that the EC had got Rs 3,173.47 crore released from the government to purchase 16,15,000 VVPAT EVMs for bringing transparency in the election process.

The petition claimed that the alleged "great discrepancy" in number of votes polled and counted at majority of the constituencies "creates doubt" in the minds of voters, including the petitioner, that the EVMs were tampered with.

Apart from inspection of paper trails of the Lok Sabha polls, the plea had also sought directions to the EC to ensure that in future the paper slips are also counted.