A petition admitted by the Supreme Court last month that called for the introduction of technology to allow blind voters to verify their votes has set off a debate, with some disability rights activists raising concerns over the practical issues that may crop up.
On September 23, the apex court admitted the petition filed by Mumbai-based activist Akshay Bajad that suggested that image text to speech (ITTS) conversion software be added to the Electronic Voting Machines and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units used for elections. The court ordered notices to be sent to the respondents, the Election Commission of India and the Law Ministry, to be replied by October 21.
Dr. Bajad, an ayurvedic doctor by profession, said he had first written to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Union Law Ministry last year with his suggestions, but decided to file the petition as there hadn’t been any significant progress. In a Right to Information reply to him on July 4 about the status of his representations, the EC said they were “still under consideration”.
