Commission, Punjab (respondent No.2),, has decided to conduct municipal
elections in the State of Punjab through ballot papers and ballot boxes, instead
of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), which according to learned senior
counsel for the petitioners is in gross violation of law laid down by the Apex
Court in the case of Association for Democratic Reforms Vs. Election
Commission of India and another, (2025)) SCC 732, wherein the Apex Court,
Court
while declining a prayer for reverting to the traditional mode of ballot papers
and ballot boxes for conduction of polling in elections
elections, held thus :-
"76. Nevertheless, not because we have any doubt, but
to only further strengthen the integrity of the election
process, we are inclined to issue the following directions:
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76.1 On completion of the symbol loading process in the
VVPATs undertaken on or afte
after 01.05.2024, the symbol
loading units shall be sealed and secured in a container.
The candidates or their representatives shall sign the seal.
The sealed containers, containing the symbol loading units,
shall be kept in the strong room along with the EVMs at
least for a period of 45 days post the declaration of results.
They shall be opened, examined and dealt with as in the
case of EVMs.
76.2 The burnt memory/microcontroller in 5% of the
EVMs, that is, the control unit, ballot unit and the VVPAT,
per assembly
assembly constituency/assembly segment of a
parliamentary constituency shall be checked and verified by
the team of engineers from the manufacturers of the EVMs,
post the announcement of the results, for any tampering or
modification, on a written request made by candidates who
are at SI.No.2 or Sl.No.3, behind the highest polled
candidate. Such candidates or their representatives shall
identify the EVMs by the polling station or serial number.
All the candidates and their representatives shall have an
option to
to remain present at the time of verification. Such a
request should be made within a period of 7 days from the
date of declaration of the result. The District Election
Officer, in consultation with the team of engineers, shall
certify the authenticity/intactness
authenticity/intactness of the burnt memory/
microcontroller after the verification process is conducted.
The actual cost or expenses for the said verification will be
notified by the ECI, and the candidate making the said
request will pay for such expenses. The expenses w
will be
refunded, in case the EVM is found to be tampered.
77. The writ petitions and all pending applications,
including the applications for intervention, are disposed of
in the above terms."
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1.1 The judgments authored in the said case by Hon'ble Mr. Justice
Sanjiv Khanna and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Dipankar Datta, read thus :-
(Authored by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Dipankar Datta)
"87. Electronic voting is not something which is
prevalent only in India. Multiple countries use electronic
voting in varying degrees
degrees in their national elections.
However, use of EVMs in elections in India are not without
its checks and balances. Reasonable measures to ensure
transparency, such as tallying VVPAT paper trail in 5
EVMs per assembly constituency or assembly segment in a
parliamentary constituency, are already in place after the
decision of this Court in N. Chan
Chandrababu Naidu v. Union of
India. This measure, as has been noticed by Hon'ble
India.
Khanna, J., was undertaken out of abundant caution and not
as an admission of a flaw in
in the process.
88. The exercise of tallying VVPAT paper trail in 5
EVMs with votes cast by the electors has not, till date,
resulted in any mismatch. This assertion of the ECI has not
been proved to be incorrect by the petitioners by referring
to any credible material or dat
data. So long no mismatch is
detected even after such an exercise, as directed in N.
Chandrababu Naidu (supra), it would defy the sense of logic
and reason of a prudent man to issue a Mandamus to the
ECI to arrange for tallying 100% VVPAT slips on the
specious ground of the petitioners' apprehension that the
specious
EVMs could be manipulated.
89. The petitioning association has relied on the
Report titled 'An inquiry into India's Election System: Is the
Indian EVM and VVPAT system fit for democratic
elections?' submitted
submitted by the Citizens' Commission on
Elections, to emphasize the vulnerabilities of the current
electronic voting system. The CCE Report, on a bare
reading, appears to be the culmination of inputs given by
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domain experts. For whatever such report is worth aand
though counsel claimed that the efficacy of the voting system
through EVMs has been doubted, the CCE Report itself
concludes, inter alia, that no hacking of any EVM has been
detected; what it observes is that there is no guarantee that
the EVMs cannot be
be hacked. This, in essence captures the
underlying weakness in the petitioning association's entire
case, inasmuch as the only grounds for the reliefs sought lie
in the realm of apprehension and suspicion. In arguendo,
even if the CCE Report is taken on fa
face value and it is
believed that the EVM-VVPAT
EVM VVPAT system can be hacked, can it
be said that there is absence of a redressal mechanism for
the same? Should there be hacking, resulting in violation of
a right of an elector in any manner, and if there be proof
adequate enough to upturn an election result, the law
adequate
already has in place a remedy, i.e., an election petition
under section 80 of the RoP Act. Such an election petition
can be filed not just by an aggrieved candidate, but also by
a voter, within 45 (forty-five)
(forty five) days from the date of
declaration of the result of election. Since there is already a
remedy in law to allay the fears that have been expressed by
the petitioners, if and when a discrepancy in the results
arises, the Courts are not powerless to upho
uphold the sanctity
of the democratic process by appropriate intervention.
intervention."
(Authored by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sanjiv Khanna)
"112. This issue at hand of doubting the efficacy of the
EVMs has been previously raised before this Court and it is
imperative that such issue is concluded definitely now.
Going forward, unless substantial evidence is presented
against the EVMs, the current system will have to persist
with enhancements. Regressive measures to revert to paper
ballots or any alternative to the EVMs that does not
adequately safeguard the interests of Indian citizens have to
be eschewed.
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113. I also wish to observe that while maintaining a
balanced perspective is crucial in evaluating systems or
institutions, blindly distrusting any aspect of the system can
breed unwarranted skepticism and impede progress.
Instead, a critical yet constructive approach, guided by
evidence and reason, should be followed to make room for
meaningful improvements and to ensure the system's
credibility and effectiveness.
114. Be it the citizens, the judiciary, the elected
representatives, or even the electoral machinery, democracy
is all about striving to build harmony and trust between all
its pillars through open dialogue, transparency in
processes, and continuous improvement of the system by
active participation in democratic practices. Our approach
should be guided by evidence and reason to allow space for
meaningful improvements. By nurturing a culture of trust
and collaboration, we can strengthen the foundations of our
democracy and ensure that the voices and choices of all
democracy
citizens are valued and respected. With each pillar fortified,
our democracy stands robust and resilient."
(Authored by Hon'ble Mr. Justice Dipankar Datta)
1.2 Thus, in sum and substance, the Apex Court ddeprecated
eprecated the
traditional mode of using ballot papers and ballot boxes for polling.
2. The present petitions relate to elections to Municipal
Corporations, Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats, in the State of
Punjab, for which notification dated 13.05
13.05.2026 vide Annexure P-1
1 has been
issued, declaring the election programme starting from filing of nominations
on 13.05.2026 to completion of election process on 01.06.2026.
3. Learned Advocate General of the State of Punjab and Shri
Aayush Sarna,
Sarna Advocate,, appearing on behalf of respondent No.2 - State
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Election Commission,
Commission, raise a preliminary objection as to the maintainability of
these petitions, essentially on two grounds : (i) that the present petitions do not
satisfy the basic
basi requisites of a Public In
Interest
terest Litigation; and (ii) that the
election programme,
programme vide Annexure P-1, having been published on 13.05.2026
and these petitions having been filed on 18.05.2026 and 19
19.05.2026,, the
constitutional bar contained in Article 243ZG (b) comes into play, disen
disentitling
titling
the petitioners to any relief for the time being.
4. We would have entered into the objection raised by learned
Advocate General of the State of Punjab as regards maintainability of these
petitions, but refrain from doing so, in view of the nature of order being
passed,, infra.
5. Learned counsel for the petitioners have drawn attention of this
Court to various provisions of the Punjab Municipal Election Rules, 1994 (for
brevity "1004 Rules"),
Rules"), in particular Section 48
48-A, which reads thus :-
" A. Design of Electronic Voting Machines - Every
"48-A.
voting machine shall have a control unit and a balloting
unit and shall be of such designs as may be approved by the
Punjab State Election Commission."
5.1 While relying upon the aforesaid provision of Section 48-A,
A, it is
contended that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are the only mode,
through which voting can be made and counted. It is also contended, by
relying upon various correspondences
correspondences exchanged between State Election
Commission, Punjab (respondent
(respondent No.2) and Election Commission of India
(respondent No.3),
No.3), that despite ample opportunity before respondent No.2 to
requisition EVMs for municipal elections in the State of Punjab, no effort was
made by it (respondent
( No.2) to expedite the process ooff requisitioning EVMs
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from respondent No.3 and making them available for making and counting of
votes in the municipal elections, for which polling is scheduled for
26.05.2026.
6. Per contra, learned counsel for respondent No.2 contends that
respondent No.2
No had sought the EVMs of M
M2 model, whereas the EVMs being
made available by respondent No.3 were of M
M3A model.
7. There appears to be a blame game between respondents No.2 and
3. This Court would not like to be a party to such blame game and proceeds to
decide this matter on merits as follows :-
:
7.1 No doubt, the concept of EVMs was introduced in 2006 by
adding Section 48-A
48 A of 1994 Rules, which merely provided the composition of
EVMs. However, while adding Section 48
48-A,
A, the Statute retained the
provisionss relating to ballot papers and ballot boxes, which is evident from
bare perusal of Rules 52, 53, 54, 55, 58, 65, 67, 70, 71 etc. of 1994 Rules.
8. The reason for retention of the provisions relating to ballot papers
and ballot boxes is quite obvious.
8.1 In our society,, where illiteracy; poverty and ignorance continue to
plague a large section of society, the Rule making authority intentionally
retained the provision of ballot papers and ballot boxes and did not omit the
same, while introducing the concept of EVMs in municipal elections. There
may be occasions where the Election Commission of India or the State
Election Commission may have to revert back to the traditional mode of ballot
papers and ballot boxes.
boxes Ass such, the provision for the same in the Rules were
and are understandably retained.
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9. The election programme, which was published on 13.05.2026,
lays down timeline for various stages of election to the municipalities
municipalities, right
from the initial stage of filing of nominations on 13.05.2026 to the closure of
election process on 01.06.2026.
9.1 It is now too late in the day for us to pass any order or issue any
writ, since the election programme was published as early as on 13.05.2026
and these petitions came to be filed as late as on 18.05.2026 and 19.05.2026.
19.05.2026
Arguments in the present petitions were heard and concluded on 21.05.2026.
21.05.2026
The
he election programme of municipal elections has progressed to an advanced
advance
stage, where the last date for withdrawal of candidature was 19.05.2026 and
now the only stage left is of polling on 26.05.2026 and thereafter counting on
29.05.2026.
10. We may be persuaded by the decision of the Apex Court that
going back to the orthodox
orthodox method of ballot papers and ballot boxes may not
be appropriate, but since the petitioners have approached this Court very late
in the day, we decline interference in these petitions and extend liberty to the
petitioners to assail the election process,
process if so advised, by way of an Election
Petition.
11. Accordingly, these petitions stand disposed of with aforesaid
liberty.
( SHEEL NAGU )
CHIEF JUSTICE
( SANJIV BERRY )
May 22,, 2026 JUDGE
narotam
Whether speaking/reasoned
speaking/reaso Yes/No
Whether reportable Yes/No
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