A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on 15 February 2024 unanimously struck down the Centre’s electoral bond scheme which facilitates anonymous political donations for being unconstitutional. It underscored that the scheme violates the right to information under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. In this context, a video of a press conference held by some persons is widely circulating across social media platforms, claiming that the Supreme Court of India has banned the usage of electronic voting machines (EVMs), marking a significant victory for these lawyers. In this article, let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Supreme Court of India has banned the usage of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Fact: There are no reports indicating that the Supreme Court of India has banned the usage of electronic voting machines (EVMs). If the Supreme Court had indeed made such a decision, it would have been widely reported. A fact-check by PIB (Press Information Bureau of the Government of India) on 15 February 2024, also refuted a similar claim suggesting that EVMs were banned by the Supreme Court of India. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To check the veracity of the viral claim, we conducted a relevant keyword search on the internet. However, no reports were found stating that the Supreme Court of India has banned the usage of electronic voting machines (EVMs). If the Supreme Court had really made such a decision, it would have been widely reported. During this search, we found an X(Twitter) post by PIB Fact Check (Press Information Bureau of the Government of India) on 15 February 2024, refuting a similar claim that EVMs were banned by the Supreme Court of India.
During our search, we found multiple reports (here, here & here) about the Supreme Court of India dismissing several PILs filed against the usage of EVMs. According to these reports, in November 2019, the Supreme Court rejected the petition to use ballot paper in place of EVMs in the Lok Sabha elections. The court stated that no system is perfect. The PIL was filed in court by A Subba Rao on behalf of the NGO Nyaya Bhoomi. He argued that EVMs can be misused and, therefore, should not be used during elections.
In September 2022, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli refused to entertain a petition filed by advocate CR Jaya Sukin seeking to stop the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the use of ballot paper in elections.
In the viral video, they were talking about the Supreme Court’s decision on electoral bonds. We went through the decision of the Supreme Court in this matter and there is no mention of a ban on EVM or its use anywhere in this decision. On further search, we found an extended version of the video on YouTube uploaded by Voice News Network on 15 February 2024. Upon watching the video, it is clear that the person wearing the white shirt was discussing the Supreme Court’s decision on electoral bonds, criticizing the central government on this issue. However, at the end of the video, the person expresses opposition to EVMs. He states that EVM is a violation of the Constitution and urges people to unite against EVMs so that the Supreme Court can deliver a verdict against them.
There are many videos on this channel in which people are seen expressing their opposition to EVMs. Upon searching, it was revealed that these individuals are lawyers who have been campaigning against EVMs for an extended period. They have also formed an organization named “EVM Hatao Sanyukt Morcha,” which is consistently protesting against the use of EVMs. The person speaking in the viral video is Mahmood Pracha.
To sum it up, the Supreme Court of India did not ban the usage of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
