The Delhi High Court Tuesday disposed of a plea of Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy that electronic voting machines (EVMs) were not tamper-free and needed rectification to ensure fair elections.
A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri, however, appreciated the suggestion made. The court said it cannot give any direction to the Election Commission for using the ballot paper system instead of EVMs to avoid tampering at the time of polls.
The Janata Party chief had submitted that either paper printouts should be incorporated in the EVMs or the Election Commission should return to the ballot paper system to avoid tampering.
“The Election Commission should at least provide paper receipts of the votes cast for the voter to verify,” Swamy had said before the division bench of Sikri and Justice R.S. Endlaw.
“This move would ensure that a vote cast is secured and the election is not rigged,” he said.
Swamy contended that in the poll process, transparency had to be given priority over efficiency.
He had explained that EVMs’ database was controlled by a computer chip and it was not tamper-proof. He had also cited examples of technologically advanced European nations which don’t use EVMs for the same reason.
