EVM to Ballot Paper: Supreme Court Delivers Major Ruling on Petition, Says "EVMs Are Blamed Only After Defeat"

EVM to Ballot Paper: On Tuesday, November 26, 2024, the Supreme Court of India rejected a petition seeking the use of ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in elections. The court said that EVMs are used to blame when the parties' nominees lose but nobody complains when they are victorious. "How can we see this?" the bench asked as it dismissed the petition emphasising on the 'this is not the platform for such debates'.

The petitioner had pointed out that other important leaders like Chandrababu Naidu and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had raised the issue of EVM tampering. In reply, the Supreme Court bench stated that, "When Naidu or Reddy lost, they claimed EVM tampering, but when they won, nothing was said. How can we agree to this?" The bench outrightly rejected the petition stating that such issues should not be brought before the courts.

EVM to Ballot Paper: Elon Musk's Example Cited

Petitioner K.A. Paul quoted Elon Musk, who had also expressed his views that EVMs could be manipulated. Comparing the system of India to many places he has visited, over 150 countries, where ballot paper voting is done, he compared it stating that India too, should adopt the same mode. "Why do you not want to follow the rest of the world?" was the bench's reaction to it.

Congress Raises Concerns Over EVMs

The Congress party had long been raising objections to the electoral process and EVMs, more so following their losses in the general elections and the latest Haryana and Maharashtra assembly polls. The Election Commission of India rubbished all allegations saying there was no evidence to even hint at a compromise in the electoral process.