Bar association polls: status quo ordered on EVMs

High Court directive on complaint that voting went on till 7 p.m. — 3 hours beyond the stipulated 4 p.m.

The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the Election Committee of the Supreme Court Bar Association to maintain status quo in respect of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in the May 11 election of office-bearers for 2011-12.

Justice Sunil Guar passed this order on an interim application filed by advocates Anis Suhrawardy and others, on whose suit challenging the elections, the Judge had already issued notice to the president of SCBA, P.H. Parekh, and others returnable on June 6.

In the elections, Mr. Parekh defeated both Adish Aggarwala and the former president of SCBA, Ram Jethmalani, by a slender margin. On Monday, the Judge while ordering

status quo on EVMs issued notice on the interim application for a direction to the Committee to keep the EVMs intact and sealed.

In the present application, the plaintiffs said it was their contention in the suit that though as per the election schedule the time for voting was declared to be from 9.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.., the time was illegally extended first till 5.00 p.m. and later on up to 7.00 p.m.

The voting was allowed to go on till 7.00 p.m. and the time was duly recorded in the EVMs, which were illegally used by the Election Committee. They submitted that recording of the time in the EVMs is valuable evidence, which has to be kept intact for the High Court to finally take a view in the suit filed by the plaintiffs. If the data stored in the EVMs as well as the time recorded therein was allowed to be deleted, it would highly prejudice the suit.

It is thus imperative that the EVMs used in the election of SCBA be sealed and kept intact, they said and sought a direction that the sealing of EVMs be held in their presence.

Mr. Justice Guar posted the matter for further hearing before the vacation judge on June 6.