What is VVPAT?
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VVPAT stands for Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail.
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The VVPAT system is an initiative of the Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections.
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In the VVPAT system, when a voter presses the button for a candidate of his choice in the electronic voting machines (EVM), a paper ballot containing the serial number, name of the candidate and poll symbol will be printed for the voter.
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It is intended as an independent verification system for EVM designed to
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allow voters to verify that their votes are casted correctly,
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detect possible election fraud or malfunction and
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provide a means to audit the stored electronic results.
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After being visible to the voter from a glass case in the VVPAT for seven seconds, the ballot slip will be cut and dropped into the drop box in the VVPAT machine and a beep will be heard.
Subramanian Swamy vs Election Commission of India 2013: The use of the old M-2 EVMs without VVPAT is in contravention of the express directions issued by the Supreme Court in Subramanian Swamy vs Election Commission of India. This case emphatically recognised that the incorporation and implementation of a system of paper trail in EVMs is an indispensable requirement of free and fair elections.