The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Union Government to examine the possibility of introducing totaliser machines for counting votes recorded through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), with the aim of protecting voting secrecy and preventing voters from being identified or potentially victimised based on the voting pattern of their polling booth.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana was hearing a plea seeking the introduction of totalisers. The mechanism combines votes from multiple EVMs before results are disclosed, making it difficult to determine how a particular polling booth voted.

After hearing the submissions, CJI Surya Kant asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to make a suitable proposal to the Centre, which would then take a decision after examining the possible legal and practical hurdles.

“We would like to know what are the impediments, if any, and whether there would be any negative impact because of introduction of such a mechanism,” the CJI said.

The ECI, represented by Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, supported the principle of protecting voter anonymity but highlighted practical difficulties. These included the need for statutory amendments and concerns over verification of results through Form 17C, which records the votes polled at each polling station and is provided to candidates and their agents.

The Commission pointed out that aggregating votes from several booths could make the existing booth-wise verification process difficult. Naidu also informed the Court that the ECI had previously recommended totalisers, but the proposal was opposed by a government-appointed expert committee and faced resistance from several political parties during an all-party consultation.

Appearing for petitioner Yogesh Gupta, advocate Ashwini Upadhyay referred to the ECI's earlier stand before the Supreme Court, including a 2018 submission that “a time has come for introduction of totaliser for counting of the votes.” He argued that revealing booth-wise voting patterns could expose voters to threats, intimidation and post-poll violence.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan submitted that the existing legal framework may allow the Centre to introduce totalisation through election rules. Referring to Section 169 of the Representation of the People Act, he argued that the rule-making power could cover the procedure for counting votes and that voter protection should take priority over political parties' preference for booth-wise results.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi also referred to Rule 59A of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, which permits aggregated counting in certain situations where there is a risk of voters being identified and subjected to intimidation or victimisation. He observed that the principle behind the provision could potentially apply to EVM counting as well.

The ECI raised concerns about VVPAT verification, arguing that totalisation could make existing cross-checking procedures more difficult. Justice Bagchi clarified, however, that the Court was not necessarily considering totalisation as a replacement for booth-wise counting, but potentially as an exceptional mechanism in cases where there is a demonstrable risk of voter victimisation.

The Supreme Court ultimately asked the Union Government to examine whether the Conduct of Elections Rules could be amended to introduce totalisers for EVM vote counting. The Centre has also been asked to consider Rule 59A and the Law Commission's recommendation on totalisation contained in its 255th Report.