HC asks EC if EVM can carry negative vote column

Bid to provide secrecy and security to voters opting for negative vote

PTI | January 20, 2012



The Bombay high court on Thursday asked the Election Commission of India and State Election Commission to inform the court whether they can add a column for 'Negative Vote' in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) on the lines of inclusion of Braille symbols in the machine to aide the visually impaired while voting.

A division bench headed by justice D D Sinha sought the information from the EC after it was informed that the supreme court had directed the Election Commission in 2007 to make EVMs Braille capable. Accordingly, the facility was provided.

"If the Braille system was introduced after supreme court orders, then the column for negative vote can also be included. The Election Commission should state whether it is possible," justice Sinha said posting the matter for hearing on January 25.

The direction came during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by Thane-based doctor Mahesh Bedekar seeking for inclusion of negative vote column in EVMs.

Bedekar's PIL contended that secrecy is maintained while a voter casts his vote for a candidate. The same should also be ensured when a person wants to cast a negative vote.

Sanjeev Gorwadkar, advocate for Bedekar, argued that by casting a negative vote, a voter decides not to vote for any of the candidates contesting elections.

Presently, when a voter wants to cast a negative vote, he/she is asked to fill out a separate form. Even a register is maintained with name and details of the voter opting for negative vote.

"In this case, there are chances of the person being harassed," argued Gorwadkar.

Comments

 

Other News

A 19th-century pilgrim’s progress

The Travels of a Sadhu in the Himalayas By Jaladhar Sen (Translated by Somdatta Mandal) Speaking Tiger Books, 259 pages, ₹499.00  

India faces critical shortage of skin donors amid rising burn cases

India reports nearly 70 lakh burn injury cases every year, resulting in approximately 1.4 lakh deaths annually. Experts estimate that up to 50% of these lives could be saved with adequate access to skin donations.   A significant concern is that around 70% of burn victims fall wi

Not just politics, let`s discuss policies too

Why public policy matters Most days, India`s loudest debates stop at the ballot box. We can name every major leader and recall every campaign slogan. Still, far fewer of us can explain why a widow`s pension is delayed or how a government school`s budget is actually approved. That

When algorithms decide and children die

The images have not left me, of dead and wounded children being carried in the arms of the medics and relatives to the ambulances and hospitals. On February 28, at the start of Operation Epic Fury, cruise missiles struck the Shajareh Tayyebeh school – officially named a girls’ school, in Minab,

The economics of representation: Why women in power matter

India’s democracy has grown in scale, but not quite in balance. Women today are active participants in elections, influencing outcomes in ways that were not as visible earlier. Yet their presence in legislative institutions continues to lag behind. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was meant to addres

India will be powerful, not aggressive: Bhaiyyaji

India is poised to emerge as a global power but will remain rooted in its civilisational ethos of non-aggression and harmony, former RSS General Secretary Suresh `Bhaiyyaji` Joshi has said.   He was speaking at the launch of “Rashtrabhav,” a book by Ravindra Sathe


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter