CHENNAI: The Madras High Court, on Wednesday (15 April), dismissed a public interest litigation seeking directions to the Election Commission of India to introduce audio-enabled Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) for visually impaired voters in the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
The petitioner organisation Nethrodaya filed the public interest litigation petition before the Madras High Court. In the petition, the organisation submitted that as per the 2011 Census, there were 1,27,405 visually impaired persons in the State of Tamil Nadu.
To make the voting process more accessible and inclusive for visually impaired voters, the organisation proposed introducing audio-enabled VVPAT, which would provide audio confirmation of the selected candidate after the vote is cast, instead of relying solely on visual verification.
The organisation submitted that, through this system, an audio message would be played through headphones. It further stated that, apart from the visually impaired, the system could be used for independent verification by the elderly, illiterate, mobility-impaired, and other print-disabled voters.
The organisation pointed out that the audio system could support a larger percentage of visually impaired voters, enhancing accessibility and inclusivity, preserving secrecy, and increasing voter confidence and trust in the electoral process. The organisation insisted that the court direct the ECI to consider the representation submitted in this regard.
When the case came up for hearing, the Bench comprising Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan. The process of election has already commenced. When the process starts, we can’t modify the procedure,” the Bench observed.
The Bench advised the petitioner that a representation could be made after the election, which could be considered for making changes in the next election. “After the election, if you come, we will definitely direct them to consider your representation. It’s a good ground,” the court orally remarked. Following this, the Bench dismissed the petition.