Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday cleared all political and administrative uncertainty regarding the voting method for the upcoming local body polls in Punjab, dismissing a public interest litigation that sought the compulsory use of Electronic Voting Machines. With the division bench rejecting the plea, it is now officially settled that the civic body elections across the state will proceed using the traditional ballot paper system. The judicial ruling puts an end to days of intense legal debate and logistical finger-pointing between the State Election Commission and the Election Commission of India.
The legal dispute reached the high court following a petition filed by Mohali resident Ruchita Garg, who challenged the Punjab State Election Commission’s decision to conduct the high-stakes municipal elections through manual paper ballots. The petitioner had argued that utilising EVMs was essential to ensure complete transparency, prevent booth capturing, and eliminate chances of manual tampering during polling and counting. In contrast, the Punjab State Election Commission had initially defended its manual ballot decision by informing the court that it was forced to revert to paper because the central poll body had allegedly failed to provide functional EVMs according to the tight timelines required for the state’s election schedule.
The administrative narrative took a dramatic turn during court hearings on Thursday when the Election Commission of India filed a counter-affidavit, strongly refuting claims of machine non-availability. The ECI informed the bench that it had approved the allocation of 6,300 Ballot Units and 5,980 Control Units from Rajasthan, confirming that the initial fleet of machines had already been dispatched from Jaipur to a storage facility in Mohali. While the central commission offered full operational support to fast-track first-level safety checks to facilitate an electronic vote, the high court ultimately decided against altering the established voting protocol at the eleventh hour. According to the gazetted state schedule, polling for 105 local bodies—including eight municipal corporations, 76 municipal councils, and 21 nagar panchayats—will take place on May 26, 2026, with manual counting and official result declarations set for May 29, 2026.
