HC to hear plea for direction to EC to stop using EVMs, use ballot paper

The court said it will hear in August a plea seeking a direction to the Election Commission to stop using electronic voting machine (EVM) and use ballot paper in the forthcoming polls in the country.

The Delhi High Court Friday said it will hear in August a plea seeking a direction to the Election Commission to stop using electronic voting machine (EVM) and use ballot paper in the forthcoming polls in the country.

When the matter was called out, the petitioner faced some technical glitches in the virtual hearing and a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said it was giving one more chance to him to present the case and listed the petition for hearing on August 3.

Petitioner advocate C R Jaya Sukin said many developed countries have banned the use of EVMs and have chosen to the ballot system of voting as these machines can be hacked while the ballot system is extremely safe.

Article 324 of the Constitution of India states that elections conducted by Election commission need to be free and fair, and reflect the will of the voters. The EVMs must be replaced across India with traditional ballot papers. Voting through ballot papers is a more reliable and transparent method for the electoral process of any country, the petition said.

During the brief hearing, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma submitted that similar matters were before the Supreme Court which has already disposed them of.

Advocate Sidhant Kumar, appearing for the EC, said the Supreme Court and four different high courts have already decided the matter and the apex court has endorsed the system of the commission.

The plea said, to save democracy, we must introduce the ballot paper system back in the electoral process in the country. EVMs have replaced the old ballot paper system in India, although many countries of the world; including England, France, Germany, Netherlands, and the United States have banned the use of EVMs.