EVMs have emerged trustworthy despite eight rounds of scrutiny by Supreme Court in the last decade as doubting Thomases have failed to provide evidence about the possibility of these being manipulated to interfere with people’s mandate.
The latest petition by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, argued by advocate Prashant Bhushan, offered the eighth occasion for SC to scrutinise efficacy of EVMs.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta Friday scotched the prayer for junking EVMs and returning to paper ballot and recounted the massive rigging that used to happen in the past.
“EVMs are simple, secure and user-friendly... incorporation of VVPAT system fortifies the principle of vote verifiability, thereby enhancing overall accountability of the electoral process,” the bench said, while criticising the NGO for attempting to “discredit the system of voting through EVMs and thereby derail the electoral process that is underway”.
SC in Sept 2013 in People’s Union for Civil Liberties case had for the first-time ordered addition of NOTA button on EVMs to allow voters to cast a negative vote, conveying that none of the candidates in the fray deserved her vote.
A month later, on a petition by Subramanian Swamy, SC made an addition to EVMs, VVPAT, while ruling that paper trail was an indispensable requirement of free and fair elections and that it will boost confidence of voters in EVMs and increase transparency of the system. EC had stipulated that VVPAT slips will be matched with electronically recorded votes of one EVM per assembly constituency.
In Nov 2018, SC had dismissed a PIL filed by NGO Nyaya Bhoomi seeking a direction to EC to hold 2019 Lok Sabha and assembly elections through ballot papers instead of EVMs. In 2019, N Chandrababu Naidu filed a writ petition seeking matching of VVPAT count with vote count on 50% of EVMs employed in elections. SC had expressed faith in fairness and integrity of EVMs. But to increase voters’ faith in the machines, it directed EC to match VVPAT counts with EVM votes in five EVMs per assembly constituency instead of one per constituency.
In May 2019, a PIL by NGO ‘Tech for All’ filed sought 100% verification of VVPAT count with EVM vote tally, but SC junked it while criticising the petitioner for making a mockery of democracy.
One C R Jaya Sukin had sought return to ballot paper through a writ petition in Madhya Pradesh HC, which had dismissed it. In appeal, SC in Sept 2022 dismissed it ‘in limine’ & upheld the HC order.
Another plea was by MP Jan Vikas Party in SC alleging irregularities in EVMs and seeking their ban. SC on Sept 30, 2022, noted that doubting Thomases continued to raise apprehension against EVMs without any evidence. A similar petition was filed by ADR and SC expressed serious doubts about the bona fides of the petitioner for seeking reversion to ballot paper.
