Overview
- In an affidavit to the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench, the State Election Commission urged dismissal of a petition demanding VVPAT use in upcoming local elections.
- The commission argued local municipal and panchayat laws contain no provision for VVPAT, saying any change requires state legislation.
- It said standard VVPAT units do not work with Maharashtra’s multi-member, multi-post EVMs, citing the failed 2017 Nanded-Waghala pilot and lack of an approved design.
- The SEC noted the Election Commission of India declined to lend VVPAT-compatible machines for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation election.
- Responding to a ballot-paper fallback, the SEC said it has no ballot boxes and cannot procure about one lakh boxes before the Supreme Court’s January 31, 2026 deadline, as the bench posted the case for further hearing on Thursday with the first phase of polls on December 2.