Municipal Elections: Conduct Polls Using Ballot Papers if VVPATs Not Available, Bombay High Court Tells Election Commission

Nagpur: In a significant ruling aimed at ensuring transparency in the electoral process, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the Election Commission to conduct municipal elections using ballot papers if it is unable to provide Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.

The court has also issued a notice to the Election Commission, asking it to submit a response within four days.

This directive came while hearing a petition filed by Congress leader Prafulla Gudadhe, who challenged the Commission’s decision not to use VVPATs in all polling booths across the state. Advocates Pawan Dahat and Nihal Singh Rathod represented the petitioner.

During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyers argued that the Supreme Court has, on several occasions, emphasized the importance of VVPATs to maintain transparency in elections and to strengthen public confidence in democracy. They contended that voters cannot be fully assured that their votes are correctly recorded on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) without a paper trail. The printed slip generated by a VVPAT, they said, allows voters to verify their choice, making it a key element of transparent voting.

The petition requested that if the Election Commission is unable to provide VVPATs due to technical or logistical reasons, ballot papers should be used instead to ensure voter confidence.

Accepting these arguments, the High Court instructed the Election Commission to make arrangements for VVPATs at every polling station. If that is not feasible, the court said, the elections should be conducted using traditional ballot papers.

Following the judgment, Prafulla Gudadhe told reporters that holding polls without vote verification is “like running a democracy blindfolded.” He welcomed the court’s decision, calling it a victory for transparency and voter trust.