Court dismissesAAP plea to use EVMs with paper trail

THE ELECTION COMMISSION MAINTAINS THAT ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES CAN’T BE TAMPERED WITH

The Delhi high court on Friday dismissed the Aam Aadmi Party’s plea to use second-generation EVMs with paper trail in the April 23 civic polls.

Justice AK Pathak declined AAP’s plea saying, “It would not be possible to give any such direction, as it would amount to interference in the election process. The plea is dismissed.”

The AAP and its candidate Mohammad Tahir Hussain had approached the high court for using second generation EVMs attached with Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in the elections to the Capital’s three municipal corporations.

The State Election Commission has opposed the plea, saying the petition was filed to stall the election.

The Election Commission maintains that EVMs can’t be tampered with.

The VVPAT is connected with EVMs and dispenses paper proof so that voters can verify that their vote has been cast correctly. The AAP and the Congress say that EVMs without VVPAT can be tampered with. The Delhi high court on Friday dismissed the plea of a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate against the rejection of her nomination in the upcoming MCD election.

A bench of acting chief justice Gita Mittal and justice Anu Malhotra rejected the petition of Sanju Bala, whose nomination as a BJP candidate from Bapraula in Ward 24S, was rejected by the Delhi poll panel.

A single judge bench of the high court had on April 8 upheld the poll panel’s decision which was challenged by Bala before the division bench.

Bala was proposed as a candidate by deputy mayor of South Delhi Municipal Corporation, Shashi Prabha from Bapraula ward but the returning officer had informed Prabha she was not an elector in the ward, for which she proposed the candidate.