'EVM tampered when you lose, it's not when you win': SC junks plea for reverting to paper ballots

PTI, NEW DELHI, NOV 26: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking to revert to paper ballot voting in elections in the country, saying allegations of tampering with electronic voting machines (EVMs) are raised only when people lose polls.

"What happens is, when you win the election, EVMs are not tampered with. When you lose the election, EVMs are tampered with," remarked a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P. B. Varale.

Apart from ballot paper voting, the plea sought several directions, including a directive to the Election Commission to disqualify candidates for a minimum of five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor, or other material inducements to voters during polls.

When petitioner-in-person K. A. Paul said he filed the PIL, the bench remarked: "You have interesting PILs. How do you get these brilliant ideas?"

The petitioner said he is the president of an organization that has rescued over three lakh orphans and 40 lakh widows.

"Why are you getting into this political arena? Your area of work is very different," the bench retorted.

After Paul revealed he had been to over 150 countries, the bench asked him whether each of those nations used ballot paper voting or electronic voting. The petitioner said foreign countries had adopted ballot paper voting and argued that India should follow suit.

"Why don’t you want to be different from the rest of the world?" asked the bench. Paul responded by saying there was corruption, citing an instance in June 2024 when the Election Commission announced they had seized ₹9,000 crore.

"But how does that make your relief, which you are claiming here, relevant?" asked the bench, adding: "If you shift back to physical ballots, will there be no corruption?"

Paul claimed Tesla CEO and co-founder Elon Musk had stated that EVMs could be tampered with. He also mentioned that TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, the current chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, and former state chief minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy had claimed EVMs could be tampered with.

"When Chandrababu Naidu lost, he said EVMs could be tampered with. Now this time, Jagan Mohan Reddy lost, and he said EVMs could be tampered with," noted the bench.

When the petitioner said everybody knew money was distributed during elections, the bench remarked: "We never received any money for any elections."

The petitioner said another prayer in his plea was the formulation of a comprehensive framework to regulate the use of money and liquor during election campaigns, ensuring such practices were prohibited and punishable under the law.

The plea further sought a direction to mandate an extensive voter education campaign to raise awareness about the importance of informed decision-making.