The Supreme Court of India, on November 26, junked a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by evangelist Dr. K.A. Paul, who sought to replace Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with paper ballots for elections in India. Coming down heavily on anti-EVM pleas, the Court lambasted them stressing that the EVMs are tampered with only when they suffer electoral losses.
Dismissing the allegations of tampering with EVMs, Justice Nath said, “What happens is, if you win the elections, EVMs are not tampered with. When you lose elections, EVMs are tampered (with). When Chandrababu Naidu lost, he said EVMs can be tampered with. Now, this time, Jaggan Mohan Reddy lost; he said EVMs can be tampered (with).”
The PIL also called for the disqualification of candidates for at least five years if they were found guilty of distributing inducements such as money or liquor during elections. Coming as a petitioner-in-person, Dr. Paul began his address saying, “I have filed this PIL after much prayer.”
However, Justice Vikram Nath cut him short, saying, “You have filed PILs earlier. How do you get such brilliant ideas?” Dr. Paul modestly replied that he had been recently present at the Global Peace Summit in Los Angeles, including with the support of 180 retired IAS/IPS officers and judges for his cause. The man described himself as a Global Peace President, with his humanitarian work, particularly in rescuing more than 310,000 orphans and 40 lakh widows.
When Justice Nath asked him why he was getting into the political fray, Dr. Paul claimed, “This is not political. See, I have been to 155 countries, and every country in the world, if you see, has [ballot paper voting]. Every democracy in the world, if you see [has physical ballot paper].” He added Russia, Syria, and Liberia, which had even more traditional forms of voting. He further contended that India should emulate this international pattern, alleging that Articles 14, 19, and 21 were being breached in India. He added that it was Constitution Day, so the subject became all the more relevant.
Dr. Paul took recourse to Article 32, wherein a citizen can approach the apex court. He urged that the facts pertaining to corruption during elections were very much in place. He mentioned the June announcement by the Election Commission of seizure of over Rs 9,000 crores in cash and gold without anything happening thereafter. He asserted that money flows during elections and that he had evidence against six major political parties for receiving Rs 1,200 crores from a businessman.
Justice Nath replied with a raised eyebrow, “It does not matter to the political parties. You have a problem.”
Despite Dr. Paul’s assertions about election corruption and EVM vulnerability, the apex Court dismissed the PIL, with Justice Nath questioning the logic behind the claims.