SC junks PIL seeking use of paper ballots

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the reintroduction of the physical/paper ballot voting system in elections, along with several other electoral reforms.

A division bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and PB Varale found no force in the petitioner's contention that even leaders like Chandrababu Naidu and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had raised issues of tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). "When Chandrababu Naidu or Mr Reddy lost, they said that EVMs were tampered with and when they won, they didn't say anything. How can we see this? We are dismissing this. This is not the place where you argue all of this," the bench observed.

The petitioner, Evangelist Dr KA Paul, contended that EVMs could be tampered with and suggested that India should follow the practices of countries like the United States which use physical ballots. He also sought directions to the Election Commission of India to disqualify candidates for at least five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor and other inducements. He further argued that EVMs pose a threat to democracy, alleging that even business tycoon Elon Musk had voiced concerns over EVM tampering. The petitioner had also sought broader electoral reforms seeking a voter education program to increase electoral participation; investigative machinery to scrutinise political party funding and a policy framework to prevent election-related violence.