Supreme Court Dismisses Plea Challenging Use Of Ballot Papers In Punjab Municipal Elections

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking the use of Electronic Voting Machines instead of ballot papers in the Punjab Municipal elections.Noting that the elections are scheduled to take place tomorrow, the bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi refused to interfere, saying that it was too late as all arrangements had been made.Senior Advocate Nachiketa Joshi, for the petitioner, submitted that it was the first time that the ballot papers were being used in the recent past. He pointed out that the Supreme Court has observed that EVMs are the norm."Elections are tomorrow, what can be done now? there is no time left," CJI Surya Kant said. Joshi submitted that it was only on 14th May that the State Election Commission notified that the elections will be held through ballot papers, and immediately, the petitioner approached the High Court challenging it the next day.When Joshi said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has agreed to make available the requisite EVMs, Justice Bagchi said that the ECI was not conducting the elections, and the authority conducting the elections was not before the Court.Justice Bagchi said that the Court will not "second-guess" the decision of the SEC, and cannot interfere with an ongoing election process. Justice Bagchi added that there was no "jurisdictional error" in the decision. "The ultimate master is the State Election Commission. If the State Election Commission did not have the power to use ballot papers, we would have injuncted," Justice Bagchi observed, saying that the rules allowed the use of ballot papers. "Ballot paper election has not been deleted from the scheme of the municipal election. It is open to the State Election Commission to choose between ballot papers and EVM. We agree that the Supreme Court in the ADR judgment held that it would be a regressive step to go back to ballot papers. But as the election process has started, it would be unwise for us to interfere when the rules do not exclude ballot papers," Justice Bagchi said.When Joshi said that booth capturing events can happen, CJI Surya Kant said that if law and order problems are there, even EVMs can be of no help.The counsel appearing for the ECI said that the ECI has taken a policy to lend EVMs to SECs for local body elections, and only the transportation charges are levied. The ECI said that usually, requisitions come from States six months in advance. He added that it might require three days to check the machines and train the officials.When Joshi made a request to appoint observers to oversee the elections, the bench said that such a prayer was not there before the High Court, and that it cannot proceed on the presumptions. "Why are we going to presume that elections will be unfair?" CJI asked.The Court was hearing an SLP challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment that refused to stop Punjab municipal elections from being conducted through ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).Before the High Court, the petitioners argued that the Punjab State Election Commission's decision to revert to ballot papers was contrary to the Supreme Court's 2024 judgment in Association for Democratic Reforms v. Election Commission of India, which rejected demands to return to paper ballots and endorsed continued use of EVMs with existing safeguards. They also contended that the Commission failed to take timely steps to procure EVMs.The High Court emphasised that while the Supreme Court had expressed reservations about reverting to paper ballots, the Punjab Municipal Election Rules, 1994 continue to contain provisions for both EVMs and ballot papers.The High Court explained that the statutory framework governing municipal elections consciously retains the option of conducting polls through ballot papers and ballot boxes to address prevailing ground realities such as illiteracy, poverty, and logistical constraints.The Court noted that while Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been introduced, the law does not mandate their exclusive use, and authorities may revert to the traditional ballot system where circumstances so require.The High Court declined to interfere, observing that the election process had already substantially progressed and polling was only days away. It observed that the parties are free to challenge the election later through an election petition.The petition was filed through Advocate-on-Record Alabhya Dhamija.Case no. – SLP(C) No. 18893/2026 Diary No. 32732 / 2026Case Title – Ruchita Garg v. State of Punjab

Supreme Court Dismisses Plea Challenging Use Of Ballot Papers In Punjab Municipal Elections

Amisha Shrivastava

The Court noted that the relevant rules allowed the option of ballot papers in addition to Electronic Voting Machines.

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Amisha Shrivastava

Supreme Court Dismisses Plea Challenging Use Of Ballot Papers In Punjab Municipal Elections

Amisha Shrivastava

The Court noted that the relevant rules allowed the option of ballot papers in addition to Electronic Voting Machines.

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Amisha Shrivastava

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