MUMBAI, Nov. 20 -- The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that using Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines in local body elections is not feasible. It added that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has refused to lend its VVPAT-compatible Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to the state election body. The SEC was replying to a petition filed by Congress leader Prafulla Gudadhe. He had claimed that the state election body had failed to ensure transparency in the election process by deciding not to deploy VVPAT machines for the upcoming local body polls across Maharashtra. The plea also noted that the Supreme Court had directed the SEC in May 2025 to complete the long-delayed polls within four months, after they had been stalled for nearly four years. Later, the SEC sought an extension until January 31, 2026, citing the unavailability of suitable EVMs, the plea added. At a press conference in Nashik on August 5, 2025, the SEC then announced that VVPATs would not be used for elections to zilla parishads, panchayat samitis, municipal councils, municipal corporations, and gram panchayats, the petition stated. The petitioner contended that without VVPATs, votes recorded on EVMs cannot be verified, leaving no way for voters or authorities to confirm that the recorded vote reflects the voter's choice. "The SEC's decision undermines transparency and fairness. It appears to merely comply with the Supreme Court's timeline while compromising the integrity of the electoral process," the petition said. In its reply, filed on November 10, the SEC stated that the local body Acts do not have any legal provision for the use of VVPAT machines with EVMs. "The SEC derives its powers solely from these Acts, and it cannot introduce or mandate the use of VVPAT without explicit legislative provisions specifically applicable to local body elections. Any deviation would amount to overstepping statutory boundaries", it said. Focusing on the "technical feasibility" of designing and manufacturing a VVPAT machine for the local body polls, the SEC highlighted that there is no approved design for a multi-member, multi-post VVPAT compatible with the EVMs used by the SEC. "The SEC had appointed a special committee to assess the feasibility of designing and using VVPATs, which did not result in any recommendation or mandate for a statewide roll-out of VVPAT in local body elections," the affidavit said. The SEC said its decision to conduct local body elections using EVMs without VVPAT is a "reasoned exercise of statutory discretion, informed by feasibility studies". The affidavit added that there is no illegality, arbitrariness, or violation of fundamental rights, and described Gudadhe's claims as "conjecture and apprehension without any proof, which is not a justiciable issue warranting judicial intervention."...