High Court Dismisses Plea Challenging Use Of Ballot Papers Instead Of EVMs In Punjab Local Body Polls

The Punjab & Haryana High Court today dismissed a PIL challenging decision of the State Election Commission to switch from Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to ballot papers in the upcoming Punjab local body polls.

The elections for the local bodies in Punjab are scheduled to be held on May 26, with the counting of votes scheduled to take place on May 29.

The division bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry rejected the plea ahead of Municipal General Elections, 2026.

The plea contended that the shift from EVM-VVPAT to ballot papers has been made abruptly through an administrative communication, without any statutory amendment, legislative sanction, or public consultation.

According to the petition, the impugned move undermines the constitutional mandate of free, fair, transparent, and credible elections, and violates Articles 14, 19(1)(a), 21, and 243ZA of the Constitution of India.

The petitioner relied on judgments of the Supreme Court in Dr. Subramanian Swamy v. Election Commission of India, Chandrababu Naidu v. Union of India, and Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India, to argue that the use of EVMs with VVPAT has been judicially recognised as an important safeguard against electoral malpractices such as booth capturing, ballot stuffing, and manipulation.

It is further contended that the reversion to ballot papers is not based on any demonstrated defect in EVMs, but appears to stem from arbitrary administrative considerations. The plea also raised concerns about the possibility of electoral malpractices, particularly in light of past experiences in the State.

In this backdrop, the petitioner had sought directions to the authorities to conduct the Municipal Elections, 2026 exclusively through EVMs with VVPAT. The plea also sought quashing of any official order issued for conducting the elections through ballot papers, arguing that such a move would adversely affect the integrity of the electoral process.

AG Punjab Maninderjit Singh Bedi had submitted that Article 243ZA of constitution of India, only state election commission has the authority to conduct the election, ECI has no role in MC elections.

A detailed order is awaited.

Title: Ruchita Garg v State of Punajb