The Electronic voting machines (EVMs), now ubiquitous, had a troubled beginning when the gadgets were first introduced in the country, in some of the polling booths of the Paravur Assembly constituency in Ernakulam district in the 1982 Assembly poll.
Locked in the battle then were the late Congress leader A.C. Jose and CPI leader Sivan Pillai but Jose was defeated by a razor-thin margin of 123 by Mr. Pillai. The machines, much to the voters’ curiosity, were up in as many as 50 polling stations in the constituency.
Jose challenged the election of his rival in the Kerala High Court on the ground that the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, did not empower the Election Commission to use EVMs for conducting the poll and counting of votes in elections in the country. However, the High Court refused to accept his plea and held that the Election Commission was empowered under Article 324 of the Constitution to use EVMs.
But on an appeal, the Supreme Court reversed the High Court verdict and ordered a re-poll in the 50 polling stations using conventional ballots papers. Mr. Jose won the re-poll.
The Supreme Court order declaring the EVM-aided election null had held that the Election Commission should have conducted the poll under the laws prevailing then, the Representation of the People Act 1951 and the Conduct of Election Rules 1961. Both prescribed ballot papers, and said the Commission could not ‘‘innovate a new method.”
The Election Commission had to suspend the use of voting machines until after the Parliament inserted Section 61A in the Act and rules legitimising the use of EVMs. Amendments were also brought to the Conduct of Elections Rules in 1992.
Since November 1998, the EC has been using EVMs in every general or by-election to Lok Sabha or State Assemblies.
