The Supreme Court canceled the first election conducted using EVM, do you know what it said then? Achi-News

New Delhi (August 27): The Supreme Court on Friday gave its clear nod to Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), but the court quashed the election in which EVMs were first used in Kerala’s Parur assembly constituency 40 years ago. and 85 people. re-voted. Voting has been ordered in 50 centres. In August 1980, Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) introduced a prototype voting machine to political parties.

Two years later, in 1982, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced that the machine would be used as a pilot project in 50 of the 84 polling stations in the Parur constituency in that year’s assembly elections in Kerala. The central government did not approve the use of the machines, but the ECI exercised its constitutional powers under Article 324, which gives it powers to “supervise, direct and control” elections.

The Congress candidate went to court

In the results declared on 20 May 1982, Sivan Pillai (CPI) defeated Ambat Chacko Jose (Congress) by 123 votes. Pillai polled 30,450 votes, of which 19,182 were cast using voting machines. Chaco Jose challenged the results in the trial court and the court upheld the validity of the voting machines and the election result. After this, Jose went to the Supreme Court and appealed there. A bench of Justices Murtaza Fazal Ali, Appaji Varadarajan and Ranganath Mishra heard the case in the Supreme Court.

What is the Electoral Commission’s argument?

During the hearing in the Supreme Court, the Election Commission argued that its power under Article 324 prevails over any Act of Parliament and if there is a conflict between the law and the powers of the ECI, the law is subject to the Commission. Responding to this argument, Justice Fazal Ali wrote, “It is a very attractive argument but on close scrutiny and careful consideration it does not come within the scope of 324 and is not relevant.”

The bench, in its unanimous opinion, held that the introduction of voting machines is a legislative power exercisable by Parliament and state legislatures (Articles 326 and 327) and not by the ECI.

The Supreme Court did not accept the argument

The ECI also referred to Section 59 of the Representation of the People Act 1951 and Rule 49 of the Election Code of Conduct, 1961. Section 59 states, “Votes shall be cast by ballot or in such manner as may be prescribed…”. It states that the ECI may “publish a notice giving instructions regarding voting and conducting the voting by ballot paper at the polling stations specified in the notice or in the manner prescribed”.

However, during the hearing, the Supreme Court explained the “prescribed method” of voting, which uses ballot paper and not voting machines. The Court held that the “strict meaning” of the term ‘ballot paper’ does not include voting by voting machines. “If a mechanical process is adopted, thorough and appropriate training will have to be given to voters, which will take a lot of time,” said the court.

The Supreme Court annulled the election

After this Supreme Court verdict, a by-election was held in Parur assembly constituency and Chacko Jose, who opposed EVMs, won. But, despite this ruling by the Supreme Court, the Electoral Commission did not give up the idea of ​​voting through voting machines instead of ballot papers. In 1988, the Election Act was amended to include Section 61A. Provision is made in this section that the Election Commission can conduct voting through EVMs.

EVM is back after a decade

After almost a decade, EVMs were used in 16 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. Later in 1999, 46 Lok Sabha seats also voted through EVM. In 2001, state elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal were conducted entirely using EVMs. By the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, EVMs had replaced ballot papers in all 543 seats. Since then EVMs have been used in all elections.

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