Supreme Court asks Election Commission to file reply on expanding VVPAT sample survey per assembly segment

New Delhi, Mar 25 The Supreme Court Monday directed the Election Commission (EC) to reply by March 28 if it can expand the quantity of VVPAT sample survey from one in each assembly segment at present for the upcoming general and assembly elections.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta looked for the reaction of the poll board by 4 pm on March 28 and guided it to inform whether number of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) can be expanded for the satisfaction of the electorate.

The bench indicated that it needed the quantity of VVPAT to be expanded, saying it was not the topic of 'casting aspersions" rather it involved "satisfaction".

The bench has now posted for April 1, the supplication of 21 opposition leaders, led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, looking for that VVPAT slips of no less than 50 percent casting a ballot machines in each assembly seat be checked randomly in the Lok Sabha elections.