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The Supreme Court connected Wednesday (May 27, 2026) asked the Election Commission to see a petitioner’s practice to time-stamp Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips to grounds the nonstop infinitesimal an elector formed his ballot connected polling day.
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant directed the Supreme Court Registry to guardant the petition and full lawsuit records filed by businessman, Nalla Suresh Reddy, to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Mr. Reddy submitted that time-stamping of the VVPAT slips would beryllium panacea for recurring controversies implicit “last-hour voting surges” and booth-level discrepancies. It would beryllium a systemic summation to heighten electoral transparency.
“We person seen wide doubts astir a abrupt leap successful polling aft 5 p.m. All that would beryllium enactment to remainder by time-stamping VVPAT slips,” elder advocator Devadatt Kamat submitted connected the petitioner side.
The Government had notified the amended Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 successful August 2013, enabling the ECI to usage VVPAT with Electronic Voting Machines during elections.
The petition said the 1961 Rules specifically mandate that names, serial numbers, and symbols of candidates should beryllium displayed, but it did not telephone for signaling the nonstop clip of voting.
“This omission creates a important audit gap,” the tribunal recorded the petitioner’s statement successful a elaborate judicial order. The Bench further recorded that the petition has sought a modification of the 1961 Rules to present time-stamping of VVPAT slips.
The petition said the VVPAT slips, however, should not person immoderate details to place the voter, including the EPIC fig oregon the sanction of the elector. The time-stamped VVPAT gaffe could beryllium preserved for six months oregon more, the second successful lawsuit determination was a dispute.
The tribunal quoted the petition to enactment that though the contented was successful furtherance of electoral reforms, accountability and transparency, it was a method and argumentation substance which came exclusively wrong the domain of the ECI.
Referring the petition to the canvass assemblage connected behalf of the petitioner, the tribunal said it has not commented connected the merits of the issue.
