NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea for reintroduction of the paper ballot voting system in elections, asking why it was necessary to follow other countries.
Supreme Court Dismisses Paper Ballot Demand, Defends EVM Integrity
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna B Varale told the petitioner evangelist Dr K A Paul, that it is not keen to entertain the petition.
The petitioner, appearing in-person, insisted that the issue raised before the court is very important.
Petitioner’s Claims on EVM Tampering and Democracy Threat Rejected by SC
He contended that even leaders like Chandrababu Naidu and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had questioned the use of electronic voting machines (EVM).
“When Chandrababu Naidu or Mr Reddy lost, they say that EVMs are tampered when they won, they don't say anything” the bench observed, asking the petitioner as to how he sees this scenario.
The petitioner insisted that EVMs can be tampered.
He also raised the issue regarding seizure of cash by the Election Commission during the election.
He also pointed out that several foreign countries are using paper ballots. He submitted that India should follow the practices of countries like the United States which use physical ballots.
"Why should we follow other countries," the bench asked him, clarifying to him that the court is not the forum to raise all these arguments.
The petitioner claimed that EVMs posed a threat to democracy. He said even Elon Musk had voiced concerns over EVM tampering.
The court, however, rejected the plea after hearing his submissions.
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