"Hope to get reply very soon from CEC": Telangana PIL petitioner seeks exact voting time on VVPAT slips

Bhadradri Kothagudem (Telangana) [India], June 2 : Nalla Suresh Reddy of Paloncha in Kothagudem district in Telangana on Monday submitted a representation to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and its Technical committee seeking to record the exact time and date of the vote on Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips and allied Technical clarifications, regarding which he already filed public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court.

Speaking to ANI on Monday, Suresh Reddy informed that following the directions of the Supreme Court, he has mailed the petition to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the technical committee for their consideration, and the same would be sent through India Post. He also hoped that he would get a response from the CEC very soon.
"Today I have submitted a representation to the Election Commission of India, and Technical Committee via email and as well as I am sending India Post for their kind consideration of the PIL which I have filed in the Supreme Court and the Court directed to consider my representation. So today I have emailed the Election Commission of India and hope I will get the reply very soon," Petitioner Nalla Suresh Reddy told ANI on his plea demanding date and time on VVPAT slips.

With his PIL, Reddy has raised a significant debate over accountability and auditability of the electoral process by pointing out that the absence of exact time-stamping on VVPAT slips leaves a significant audit gap.

According to him, Form 17A records voter participation; Form 17C records the account of votes; the Control Unit records vote totals; and the WPAT slips evidence of the voter's selected candidate.

Yet, where a dispute concerns the timing, sequence, late-hour surge, complaint window, booth-level abnormality or post-poll discrepancy, the physical paper trail itself remains silent on the exact time at which the vote was cast and recorded.

A time-stamped slip would enable lawful verification without disclosing voter identity and could ensure a truly free and fair election process in view of last-minute voter turnout in previous elections, Suresh Reddy noted.
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant recently directed the Supreme Court Registry to forward the petition and entire case records filed by Suresh Reddy to the ECI to treat the petition as a representation for consideration.

The court observed that while the issue raised by the petitioner pertained to electoral integrity, the specific relief sought involved questions of technical feasibility, and it falls under the domain of the ECI.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) schedule has been outlined for multiple States and Union Territories with clearly defined timelines for each stage of the electoral roll process.
For Telangana and Punjab, the qualifying date is October 1, 2026. The preparation phase will be conducted from June 15, 2026, to June 24, 2026, followed by BLO visits from June 25, 2026, to July 24, 2026. Rationalisation will be completed by July 24, 2026.
The draft roll will be published on July 31, with claims and objections open from July 31 to August 30. The notice phase and disposal will continue from July 31 to September 28 and the final roll will be published on October 1.