Supreme Court rejects plea for reverting to ballots, says ‘EVMs are fine if you win and tampered if you lose’

Supreme Court dismisses petition for paper ballots, highlights hypocrisy in EVM criticism, emphasizes advantages of EVMs.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (November 26, 2024), indicated a level of hypocrisy attached to criticism about Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), saying ““EVMs are tampered when you lose and fine if you win”.

The oral remark was made by Justice Vikram Nath before dismissing a petition filed by evangelist K.A. Paul, who urged for a judicial order to return to paper ballots.

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Justice Nath, during the hearing, asked Mr. Paul whether he wanted to turn the court into a political arena.

Mr. Paul said he was not playing any politics in court. He said his visits abroad to various countries revealed that the paper ballot system was being followed in democracies across the world.

He drew attention to the fact that the court was hearing his petition on Constitution Day.

The evangelist, appearing in person, said the Election Commission of India must be directed to disqualify candidates found distributing largesse, money, liquor during elections for at least five years.