Plea in Supreme Court seeks direction to Election Commission to stop using EVMs, use ballot paper in polls

New Delhi: A petition was Wednesday filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Election Commission to stop using electronic voting machine (EVM) and use ballot paper in the forthcoming polls in the country. The plea has alleged that EVMs are prone to error and several other countries have banned its use as doubts have been raised on its accuracy.

"The electronic voting machines must be replaced across India with traditional ballot papers. Voting through ballot papers is a more reliable and transparent method for the electoral process of any country," the plea, filed by advocate C R Jaya Sukin, said.

The plea alleged that EVMs can be "tampered during its manufacturing" and in such cases, it does not even require any hacker or malware to manipulate the actual voting.

"No machine ever made anywhere in the world is infallible," the plea said.

Questions have been raised over EVMs in the past and Election Commission has maintained that EVMs are safe and tamper proof.