New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Tuesday refused to take action on a plea seeking use of voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines attached to electronic voting machines in the upcoming municipal elections for greater transparency in the voting process.
The municipal elections are scheduled to take place on 23 April.
Justice A.K. Pathak, before whom the matter was brought for urgent consideration, issued notice to the Election Commission and Delhi State Election Commission, and said that the matter would be taken up for detailed hearing at a later date.
The court, however, refused to pass any directions at this stage. “We cannot issue directions at the eleventh hour.” Justice Pathak remarked.
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He also asked the Election Commission to respond in an affidavit within two days about the availability of VVPAT machines which could be considered for use in the elections.
The court was hearing a plea by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Mohammed Tassir, a contesting candidate for the MCD elections who contended that VVPAT machines should be adopted as electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the past had been subjected to manipulation.
In VVPAT machines, voters are required to confirm their vote through the electronic voting machine by verifying who they voted for on a paper slip dispensed by the machine.
The case will be heard next on 21 April.