Can EVMs work with ballot papers, court asks EC

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Election Commission to inform it whether a system incorporating ballot papers with Electronic Voting Machines was possible to implement during elections.

Acting on a petition filed by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, a division bench of Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice Manmohan directed the EC's counsel to file an affidavit in this regard by October 21.

Swamy had on Tuesday moved the court, seeking a direction to the Election Commission for incorporation of ballot papers in the EVMs, to avoid tampering at the time of polling. He had challenged the EVMs in its present form, pleading, "Do not utilise any EVM unless the same is incorporated with a paper trail".

The PIL had said that the utilisation of EVMs with paper back-up has been successful in the United States and several European countries.

Alleging that the Election Commission's claim about EVMs being tamper-proof has been proved wrong, the former Member of Parliament had said that the EC's refusal to entertain his request for the dual system forced him to approach the court for its intervention in the matter.

He wanted the EC to adopt international standards for the successful utilisation of EVMs at the time of polls. The senior politician had also suggested that in case of any complaint of tampering in any polling booth, the commission should opt for a second round of counting with the ballots.