AAP MOVES DELHI HC, SEEKS TO CONDUCT MCD ELECTION THROUGH EVM WITH VVPATS

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday moved Delhi High Court seeking its direction to the Delhi State Election Commission to conduct the upcoming General Elections for the Municipal Corporations of Delhi with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) which are compatible with VVPAT.

The bench of Justice Rekha Palli after hearing the submission made by Advocate Rakesh Kumar Sinha appearing for the petitioner asked the state election commission counsel to take instructions in this regard and posted the matter for hearing next on March 22. The AAP petitioner through its MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj argued that the EVMs without the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines make it almost impossible to ascertain the accuracy of the machines and rule out any tampering.

The use of the old M-2 EVMs without VVPAT is in contravention of the express directions issued by the Supreme Court in the Subramanian Swamy VS Election Commission of India case which emphatically recognized that the incorporation and implementation of a system of paper trail in EVMs is an indispensable requirement of free and fair elections, stated the plea.

Petitioner is aggrieved by the response dated March 7 of his representation from state election commission (Delhi) in which they have stated that the Delhi Municipal Elections 2022 will be held using M-2 EVMs without VVPAT, said the plea.

The decision to conduct the 2022 MCD Election using M-2 EVMs without VVPAT is wholly illegal, arbitrary, perverse, whimsical, and amounts to a colourable exercise of power, further read the petition.