The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a public interest plea (PIL) seeking the reintroduction of the paper ballot voting system in elections in India instead of prevailing voting through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Dismissing the plea casting doubts on the integrity of the EVMs, a bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice P B Varale said what happens is, if you win the elections, EVMs are not tampered with.
The PIL, seeking voting by physical ballot papers, was filed by evangelist Dr. K A Paul. He said even leaders like Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his predecessor YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had questioned EVM tampering.
He said EVMs could be tampered with and suggested that India should follow the practices of countries like the United States which use paper ballots instead of EVMs.
“When Chandrababu Naidu or Mr Reddy lost, they say that EVMs are tampered and when they won, they don’t say anything. How can we see this? We are dismissing this. This is not the place where you argue all of this,” said the bench dismissing the PIL.
Stating that the EVMs pose a threat to democracy, Paul said even prominent figures like Elon Musk had voiced concerns over EVM tampering.
Besides seeking to switch over to the ballot paper for conducting elections, he had also sought directions to the Election Commission to disqualify candidates for at least five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor, and other inducements during elections.