The EC had said the move to allow NRIs to use proxy voting on the lines of defence personnel would necessitate changes in the Representation of the People Act or in the rules made under the Act. The bench sought response from the EC on a petition demanding that every EVM to be used in the Gujarat assembly polls be fitted with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). Petitioner Manubhai Chavada opposed Rule 56(D) (2) of the Conduct of Elections Rules conferring discretionary power on the returning officer to refuse counting of VVPAT.In another case, the bench agreed to examine a PIL seeking that removal of election commissioners be made similar to that for the Chief Election Commissioner. At present, a CEC can be removed through a process identical to the removal of an SC judge but an election commissioner can be removed on the recommendation of the CEC.The petitioner is a BJP functionary Ashwini Upadhyay who sought direction to the Centre not to remove the election commissioners, except in a similar manner and grounds as the CEC. "The element of independence sought to be achieved under the Constitution is not exclusively for an individual alone but for the institution," he said in his petition.

Source: Times of India November 10, 2017 22:52 UTC