Supreme Court permits paper ballots for Punjab municipal polls
The Supreme Court has given the green light for Punjab to use old-school ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in Tuesday's municipal elections.
The court said it could not step in now since everything was already set up for paper ballots.
This came after a plea tried to make EVMs mandatory, but the judges felt it was too late for changes.
SEC may choose EVMs or ballots
The court also made it clear that the State Election Commission (SEC) can choose between EVMs and ballot papers based on what works best under current rules.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi pointed out that using ballot papers is legitimate and CJI Surya Kant dismissed worries about booth-capturing.
The Election Commission of India said it has a policy to lend EVMs to SECs for local body elections.