SC dismisses plea against ballot papers in Punjab local body elections

The Supreme Court of India dismissed a plea challenging Punjab local body polls being conducted through ballot papers instead of EVMs, citing delay in approaching the court and refusing to disrupt the election process ahead of polling scheduled for May 26

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday junked a plea challenging the Punjab State Election Commission’s decision of holding the polls for municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats through ballot papers.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi questioned the petitioner Ruchita Garg for approaching the court late, and said it cannot destabilise the election process now. “Elections are tomorrow, what can be done now? There is no time left,” the bench said.

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“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 bench said.
It also refused to appoint an observer in the elections and said it a very serious interdiction and we will not do it.

The counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that elections are sought be conducted by ballot papers and referred to the top court’s judgement in ADR case which said EVMs have to be the norm.

The top court was hearing a plea against an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which dismissed Garg’s plea challenging decision of the State Election Commission to switch from Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to ballot papers in the upcoming Punjab local body polls. Polling for 104 municipal bodies, including eight municipal corporations in Punjab, will be held on May 26. The counting of votes will take place on May 29.

The SEC had earlier told the high court that the local body polls were being conducted through ballot papers as the EC failed to provide EVMs according to the schedule decided by it. The state counsel had opposed the petition on the grounds of maintainability.