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C R Jaya Sukin vs Election Commission Of India & Ors on 3 August, 2021

Author: Jyoti Singh

Bench: Chief Justice, Jyoti Singh

                          $~5.
                          *    IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
                          +       W.P.(C) 6635/2021 & C.M.No.20855/2021
                                  C R JAYA SUKIN                                           ..... Petitioner
                                                         Through:      Petitioner in person.
                                                    Versus
                                  ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA & ORS. ..... Respondents
                                               Through: Mr. Sidhant Kumar, Advocate with
                                               Mr. Manyaa Chandok, Advocate for Respondent
                                               No.1/ECI
                                               Mr. Chetan Sharma, Additional Solicitor General
                                               with Ms. Monika Arora, Central Government
                                               Standing Counsel, Mr. Apoorv Kurup, Central
                                               Government Standing Counsel, Ms. Nidhi Mittal,
                                               Mr. Shriram Tiwary, Mr. R.V. Prabhat, Mr. Sahaj
                                               Garg, Mr. Amit Gupta, Mr. Vinay Yadav, and
                                               Mr. Akshay Gadeock, Advocates for UOI
                                  CORAM:
                                  HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE
                                  HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE JYOTI SINGH

                                                          ORDER

% 03.08.2021 Proceedings have been conducted through video conferencing.

1. This writ petition has been preferred with the following prayers:-

"In the facts and circumstances of the case, as mentioned above, it is, therefore, most humbly prayed that this Hon'ble Court may graciously be pleased to;-

A) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate Writ or Order or Direction or any suggestion or observation or particularly the nature of Writ, by giving direction to the Respondents No.1 to stop the use of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and use ballot paper in any forthcoming elections.

B) Pass any other appropriate relief which may deem fit in the facts and circumstances of the case."

2. We have heard the Petitioner, who appears in person, at length.

3. Looking to the facts and circumstances of the case, we are of the view that the Petitioner has not been able to highlight any public interest in the present writ petition. From the arguments canvassed by the Petitioner as well as the pleadings, it is evident that the Petitioner has been unable to place any material on record detailing the working of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and/or the alleged drawbacks. The petition has been filed merely on the basis of some news items without any further research on the issue. Nothing concrete has been pointed out to support the allegation that the EVMs can be manipulated.

4. Petitioner strenuously argues that he has made substantial research before filing the Petition and in this context draws the attention of the Court to four annexures (Annexures P-1, P2, P-3 and P-4) appended to the writ petition. We have carefully perused the said Annexures. Annexure P-1 is a news reporting by BBC on 25.01.2019 as well as by "The Quint" on 31.05.2019. Annexures P-2 is the memo of writ petition preferred by the Petitioner before the Hon'ble Supreme Court and Annexure P-3 is the order dated 06.01.2021 passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the said writ petition, granting permission to the Petitioner to withdraw the writ petition with liberty to approach the appropriate High Court. Annexure P-4 is a copy of the representation dated 08.01.2021 sent by the Petitioner to the Election Commission of India. It is not understood how any of these documents aid W.P.(C) 6635/2021 Page 2 of 4 Signature Not Verified AMIT NARAYAN BHARTHUAR Location: Signing Date:11.08.2021 15:23:49 the Petitioner in furthering his case that EVMs should not be used during the election process and only ballot papers should be the mode of voting.

5. Per contra, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the Election Commission of India, on advance copy of the writ petition, submits that the EVMs have been approved by the Election Commission of India after due deliberation and also have a sanction by the Parliament under Section 61A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

6. We find that the petition has been filed in a haste without any research and placing concrete material on record in support of the relief sought and the petition only contains baseless allegations wholly unsubstantiated. Petitioner strenuously submitted that as per his research and knowledge, the EVMs are not used in most parts of the world such as United Kingdom, Netherland, Ireland, Italy and United States. This contention, according to us, cannot further the case of the Petitioner in the absence of placing any material on record to evidence that the EVMs in India are unreliable or suffer from any drawback so as to discontinue their use in the elections.

7. In view of the aforesaid, we see no reason to entertain this writ petition. The same is accordingly dismissed along with the pending application, with costs of Rs.10,000/-, to be deposited by the Petitioner with the Delhi State Legal Services Authority within four weeks from today. The aforesaid amount shall be utilized for the programme 'Access to Justice'.

8. Liberty is, however, granted to the Petitioner to approach this Court in case, after a thorough research, he is in a position to substantiate the allegations with necessary material and documents.

9. A copy of this order be sent forthwith to the Member Secretary, Delhi State Legal Services Authority, Patiala House Courts, New Delhi.

CHIEF JUSTICE JYOTI SINGH, J AUGUST 03, 2021/'anb' W.P.(C) 6635/2021 Page 4 of 4 Signature Not Verified AMIT NARAYAN BHARTHUAR Location: Signing Date:11.08.2021 15:23:49