On November 26, 2024, the Supreme Court talked about how some people criticize Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), saying, “People say EVMs are tampered with when they lose, but they’re fine if they win.”
This statement came from Justice Vikram Nath while he was dismissing a petition from K.A. Paul, an evangelist. Paul wanted the court to switch back to using paper ballots for voting. Justice Nath asked Paul if he was trying to make the court a place for political debates.
Paul insisted he wasn’t being political. He shared that during his travels, he noticed that many democratic countries still use paper ballots for voting.
He highlighted that the hearing took place on Constitution Day, which was significant. Paul also argued that the Election Commission of India should disqualify candidates who distribute money or gifts during elections for five years because this kind of corruption goes against everyone’s right to be treated equally and fairly.
Back in April 2024, the Supreme Court supported the use of EVMs and said that using paper ballots again wouldn’t be a good idea.
The court mentioned that using paper ballots has many known problems, especially considering that India has about 970 million voters and a large number of candidates and polling stations. Switching back would ruin the progress made in elections. EVMs, the court said, have important benefits.
The court also said that having strong distrust in a system can hold back progress. In September 2023, the Election Commission of India reassured the Supreme Court that EVMs can’t be hacked or tampered with. They provided a detailed 450-page report stating that EVMs are stand-alone machines with special chips that can’t be changed
