Fact Check: Video claiming that Supreme Court banned use of EVMs is False
Video claiming that Supreme Court banned use of EVMs is False
On February 15, 2024, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court unanimously declared the Centre's electoral bond scheme unconstitutional. The scheme, allowing anonymous political donations, was deemed to violate the Right to Information under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
In this context, a video circulating on social media claims that the Supreme Court has banned the use of EVMs, symbolising a significant victory for the lawyers.
Click here to view.
Fact Check:
The claim is False.
We ran a relevant keyword search on Google “Supreme Court ban on EVM” and found no reports stating that the Supreme Court of India has banned the usage of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
If the Supreme Court had indeed made such a decision, it would have been widely covered by the media. However, our search led us to a tweet by PIB Fact Check on February 15, 2024, dismissing a similar claim on the apex court banning EVMs in India.
Additionally, we came across various reports confirming that the Supreme Court of India rejected several PILs challenging the use of EVMs. In November 2019, the court dismissed a petition advocating for the use of ballot papers instead of EVMs in the Lok Sabha elections (sources: here, here & here).
The court acknowledged that no system is flawless. The PIL was filed by A. Subba Rao on behalf of the NGO Nyaya Bhoomi, contending that EVMs could be misused and should not be employed in elections.
Moreover, the video talked about the Supreme Court's decision on electoral bonds, not banning EVMs. We found a longer version of the video on YouTube by Voice News Network/GM News Network dated February 15, 2024. In this video, Supreme Court lawyer Mehmood Pracha criticized the government on electoral bonds and, at the end of it, he spoke against the EVMs, claiming they break the rules and urged people to unite against them for a Supreme Court verdict.
Further, we found that under the leadership of Mehmood Pracha, a few lawyers formed a group named "EVM Hatao Samyukt Morcha." They consistently make videos protesting against EVMs on their channel.
Hence, the claim is False. No reports suggest that the Supreme Court of India banned the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the election. If such a decision was made, it would have been widely reported. On February 15, 2024, a fact-check by PIB (Press Information Bureau of the Government of India) dismissed a similar claim about the Supreme Court banning EVMs.