India, Nov. 8 -- The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday issued notice to the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on a petition challenging its decision to conduct the upcoming local body elections without Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.

The VVPAT machine is attached to the ballot unit of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), and provides visual verification for the vote cast by a voter by printing a slip of paper with the voter's choice on it.

A division bench led by justice Anil Kilor directed the SEC to file its response by next week.

The petition, filed by Congress functionary Prafulla Vinodrao Gudadhe, claims the SEC has failed to ensure transparency in the election process by deciding not t...