The Supreme Court of India dismissed a plea challenging Punjab municipal elections through ballot papers instead of EVMs, with CJI Surya Kant observing that no judicial intervention was possible as polling was scheduled to begin the following day.
The Supreme Court dismissed a plea challenging the decision of the Punjab State Election Commission to conduct the upcoming municipal elections through ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi refused to interfere with the electoral process, observing that the matter had been brought before the Court at the last moment when polling was already imminent.
During the hearing, the Bench questioned petitioner Ruchita Garg for approaching the Court at such a late stage and remarked that there was practically no scope for judicial intervention with elections scheduled to begin the very next day.
The Bench observed,
”Elections are tomorrow, what can be done now? There is no time left,”
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The Court further noted that the petitioner was aware that local body elections were due and that similar issues had already been the subject of earlier litigation.
The Bench added,
”There was no need for you to wait for the formal notification of election schedule being issued. You knew that elections are to be held. There have been several rounds of litigations earlier,”
The petitioner had also requested the Supreme Court to appoint an observer to oversee the elections. However, the Court declined the request, observing that such interference in an ongoing electoral process would be inappropriate.
Rejecting the prayer, the Bench stated that appointing an observer would amount to a serious judicial interdiction which the Court was not inclined to undertake.
Background of the Dispute
The case arose from a challenge to an earlier order passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had dismissed a petition questioning the Punjab State Election Commission’s decision to conduct municipal elections through ballot papers instead of EVMs.
The petitioner had argued that the use of ballot papers raised concerns regarding transparency and electoral integrity and contended that elections ought to be conducted using Electronic Voting Machines.
Counsel appearing for the petitioner relied upon the Supreme Court’s earlier judgment in the ADR matter concerning electoral reforms and argued that EVMs should ordinarily remain the preferred mode for conducting elections.
The petitioner sought judicial directions to set aside the Election Commission’s decision and ensure the use of EVMs in the local body polls.
Punjab Local Body Elections
The elections in question relate to 104 municipal bodies across Punjab, including eight municipal corporations, several municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
Polling for these civic bodies is scheduled to take place on May 26, while counting of votes will be conducted on May 29.
Before the High Court, the Punjab State Election Commission had defended its decision by stating that Electronic Voting Machines could not be arranged within the required timeline because they were not made available by the Election Commission in time for the scheduled elections.
As a result, the State Election Commission decided to proceed with the polls using traditional ballot papers to avoid delaying the electoral process.
The State government also opposed the petition before the Supreme Court and argued that the plea itself was not maintainable, particularly when the election process had already commenced.
Refusing to interfere, the Supreme Court effectively allowed the Punjab local body elections to proceed as scheduled through ballot paper voting.
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