From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain the plea challenging Section 61A of the 1951 Representation of People Act, pertaining to the voting through the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
A bench of Jusstices S K Kaul and M M Sundresh refused to entertain the plea by Delhi lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma for reintroduction of the ballot papers in place of the EVMs, holding that there is no merit in the petition.
Sharma had moved the court for an early hearing of his petition, asserting that Section 61(A) of the Act is illegal since it has not yet received the sanction of Parliament. He pleaded that the elections using EVMs are all illegal without the clearance of Parliament and his petition should be acted upon at least for future elections.
He had moved the court in January for use of the ballot papers in the Assembly elections in five states of Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Manipur and Uttarakhand where the elections were conducted using EVMs and the results pronounced on March 10.
