Overview
- The Nagpur bench led by Justice Anil Kilor issued notice to the Maharashtra State Election Commission and set a one-week deadline for its response.
- The petition by Congress leader Prafulla Gudadhe asks the court to require VVPAT with every EVM or direct a return to ballot papers for the local polls.
- The plea also seeks an interim restraint on using EVMs without VVPAT, arguing voters must be able to verify that their ballots are recorded correctly.
- The petitioner cites the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling that called VVPAT an indispensable element of free and fair elections and says EVM votes are otherwise unverifiable.
- The SEC has maintained that current rules for local body elections do not provide for VVPAT use, after an oral announcement in August that such machines would not be deployed.