Even as the debate over the credibility of electronic voting machine (EVM) rages, the demand by several political parties to revert to paper ballots has been shown the door. The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a PIL that in the wake of allegations of EVM tampering, demanded paper ballots be re-introduced in the upcoming General Elections and state elections.

The petition was filed by NGO Nyaya Bhoomi and came up before a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. Appearing for the NGO, advocate ADN Rao argued that paper ballot is the only reliable solution as it cannot be tampered with. He cited reports to show that in the recent past, doubts have been raised on the credibility of the electronic voting machines. The counsel submitted that to restore confidence and trust of voters, it was essential to have paper ballots that the court consider implementing it from the current Assembly elections in five states along with Lok Sabha polls next year.

The bench, also comprising Justices KM Joseph and MR Shah, inquired from the petitioner whether he was sure that paper ballots will be free from tampering. The bench said, "Every system and every machine is capable of being misused. Ultimately, the success of any system depends on the person who is using it." To that end, the court declined to issue notice, effectively killing the revive paper ballot chant.

In August 2018, the Election Commission held a meeting with heads of top political parties to discuss the doubts and demands of the 17 political parties seeking to shift to paper ballots. At the forefront was the Congress, which raised serious concerns over malfunctioning EVMs. Even though the EC introduced voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips in EVMs to allow voters to verify whom they voted for, the Congress demanded that at least 30 per cent of these VVPAT enabled EVMs should be randomly tested.

Other parties that had joined the chorus included Trinamool Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Aam Aadmi Party, Communist Party of India, and NDA ally Shiv Sena. According to CPI, EVMs are not friendly towards persons with eyesight related problems.

SYSTEM TAMPERING

• Counsel argued that doubts have been raised on the credibility of the electronic voting machines. Said paper can not be tampered with  
• The bench though maintained that “every system and every machine is capable of being misused.”