Supreme Court rejects plea for reverting to ballots in elections

Apart from ballot insubstantial voting, the plea sought respective directions including a directive to the Election Commission to disqualify candidates for a minimum of 5 years if recovered blameworthy of distributing money, liquor oregon different worldly inducement to the voters during polls.

When petitioner-in-person K A Paul said helium filed the PIL, the seat said, “You person absorbing PILs. How bash you get these superb ideas?”.

The petitioner said helium is the president of an organisation which has rescued implicit 3 lakh orphans and 40 lakh widows.

“Why are you getting into this governmental arena? Your country of enactment is precise different,” the seat retorted.

After Paul revealed helium had been to implicit 150 countries, the seat asked him whether each of the nations had ballot insubstantial voting oregon utilized physics voting.

The petitioner said overseas countries had adopted ballot insubstantial voting and India should travel suit.

“Why you don’t privation to beryllium antithetic from the remainder of the world?” asked the bench.

There was corruption and this twelvemonth (2024) successful June, the Election Commission announced they had seized Rs 9,000 crore, Paul responded.

“But however does that marque your alleviation which you are claiming present relevant?” asked the bench, adding “if you displacement backmost to carnal ballot, volition determination beryllium nary corruption?”.

Paul claimed CEO and co-founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, stated that EVMs could beryllium tampered with and added TDP main N Chandrababu Naidu, the existent main curate of Andhra Pradesh, and erstwhile authorities main curate Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had claimed EVMs could beryllium tampered with.

“When Chandrababu Naidu lost, helium said EVMs tin beryllium tampered with. Now this time, Jagan Mohan Reddy lost, helium said EVMs tin beryllium tampered with,” noted the bench.

When the petitioner said everybody knew wealth was distributed successful elections, the seat remarked, “We ne'er received immoderate wealth for immoderate elections.” The petitioner said different supplication successful his plea was the formulation of a broad model to modulate the usage of wealth and liquor during predetermination campaigns and ensuring specified practices were prohibited and punishable nether the law.

The plea further sought a absorption to mandate an extended elector acquisition run to rise consciousness and value of informed determination making.

“Today, 32 per cent educated radical are not casting their votes. What a tragedy. If ideology volition beryllium dying similar this and we volition not beryllium capable to bash thing past what volition hap successful the years to travel successful future,” the petitioner said.