Supreme Court turns down Opposition's request to increase VVPAT counting
New Delhi, May 7 (IBNS/UNI): In a jolt to the Opposition, the Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected 21 anti-ruling parties' request to increase the counting of VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) machines from five to 25 per cent in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
A bench of the Apex Court, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi dismissed the review petitions.
"We are not inclined to hear the review Petitions filed by the 21 opposition parties, " the CJI said.
On Apr 8, the Election Commission had argued during a hearing that the poll results will be delayed by five days if 50 per cent of total VVPATs are counted.
In its judgement, the Supreme Court had then increased the counting of paper trail machines from one to five, which didn't satisfy the club of opposition parties that had filed a review plea.
Opposition lawyer and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, while speaking to reporters outside the court on Tuesday, said: "We respect the court immensely and we must bow down to the court's majesty". He further said the plea filed by them didn't mean to disrespect the courts earlier order.
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