ADVOCATE BOYCOTTS VOTE, ALLEGES “BLATANT DEFIANCE” OF SUPREME COURT VERDICT AS URBAN LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS HELD WITHOUT VVPAT-ENABLED EVMS
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A major controversy has erupted over the conduct of Haryana’s urban local body elections after serious objections were raised against the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) without Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) technology in polling held across the state on Sunday.
In a dramatic protest against what he described as a “direct assault on electoral transparency and voter confidence,” Punjab and Haryana High Court advocate Hemant Kumar publicly boycotted voting in the Ambala Municipal Corporation elections, alleging that the Haryana State Election Commission has continued to ignore the Supreme Court’s landmark 2013 ruling mandating greater transparency in electronic voting.
Polling is currently underway in three Municipal Corporations — Ambala, Panchkula and Sonipat — along with several other urban civic bodies across Haryana. However, none of the polling stations are reportedly using VVPAT-equipped EVMs.
Calling the situation “deeply disturbing,” Hemant Kumar stated that despite more than twelve-and-a-half years having passed since the Supreme Court’s historic judgment in Dr. Subramanian Swamy vs Election Commission of India in October 2013, the Haryana State Election Commission has still not implemented VVPAT technology in municipal elections.
In a strongly worded representation sent on Sunday to Haryana State Election Commissioner Devender Singh Kalyan, senior election officials, the Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana, and India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar along with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the advocate accused the State Election Commission of remaining “consistently indifferent” toward ensuring transparent voting in local body polls.
“Voter Cannot Verify Vote”
Hemant Kumar argued that elections conducted without VVPAT defeat the very principle of transparent democracy because voters are denied the opportunity to verify whether their vote has actually been recorded in favour of the candidate for whom they pressed the button.
“When a voter cannot independently verify where the vote has gone, the credibility and integrity of the election process itself come under a cloud,” he asserted.
He further alleged that Haryana’s civic polls are still being conducted using outdated M-2 model EVMs, whereas Lok Sabha and Assembly elections across India now use modern M-3 EVMs integrated with VVPAT technology.
According to him, the absence of VVPAT creates avoidable suspicion and weakens public trust in democratic institutions.
Public Boycott of Voting
The advocate, who is a registered voter in Ward No. 12 of the Ambala Municipal Corporation area, announced that he was “compelled with a heavy heart” to boycott voting altogether due to the absence of VVPAT.
He said he has repeatedly and publicly demanded over the years that municipal elections in Haryana should be conducted with the same safeguards and technological transparency available in Parliamentary and Assembly elections.
The public boycott by a High Court lawyer during an ongoing election has now intensified debate over whether local body elections are being conducted under a lower standard of electoral accountability.
Constitutional Questions Raised
In his representation, Hemant Kumar invoked Article 243ZA of the Constitution, which grants wide powers to State Election Commissions for conducting municipal elections, and questioned why the Haryana State Election Commission has failed to mandate VVPAT despite possessing full constitutional authority to do so.
He directly asked the Commission why civic elections are still being held without the transparency mechanism that has become standard in national and state elections.
Legal Battle Likely
Significantly, the advocate hinted at possible legal proceedings if VVPAT continues to remain absent in future civic polls.
“If required, the matter may have to be raised before the courts to protect electoral transparency and restore voter confidence,” he said.
He maintained that democracy is strengthened not merely by conducting elections, but by ensuring that every voter has complete faith in the integrity and verifiability of the voting process.
The controversy is expected to trigger wider political and legal debate over whether municipal voters in Haryana are being denied the same level of electoral safeguards available to voters in Parliamentary and Assembly elections.
Haryana
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