DigitEye India Fact Checkers
A press conference video is being shared on social media with a claim that the Supreme Court of India has banned the usage of electronic voting machines (EVMs), marking a significant victory for some lawyers fighting for it. The claim has been made close on the heels of a verdict by the apex court which had struck down the Electoral Bonds scheme on February 15, 2024. The post can be seen here.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/355988033934775
Since there is a long-standing demand from a group of lawyers in New Delhi to ban the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in elections, the claim has gained attention. The video has portrayed the long fight against Electoral Bonds and at the end, the lawyers expressed hope that a similar ban would be imposed on EVMs too by the paex court.
FACT CHECK
The Digiteye India team took it up for fact-checking and found that the Supreme Court has not given any verdict banning EVMs though it rejected several PILs in the past seeking ban on EVMs. In fact, in its last hearing in November 2019 on EVMs, the Supreme Court squarely rejected a petition by A. Subba Rao on behalf of the NGO Nyaya Bhoomi and stated that no voting system is perfect.
Again in September 2022, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli rejected a PIL filed by advocate CR Jaya Sukin seeking the top court’s directive to stop the use of EVMs and revert to the old ballot paper system. Even the Press Information Bureau (PIB) of the Government of India refuted similar claim on February 15, 2024 in PIB Fact-Check terming it as “fake”.
Since both the official channels of confirmation have turned futile, we further checked on Google and found that no such report was carried out by any news outlet. If the Supreme Court makes any such decision to ban EVMs, it would have hit the headlines.
Hence, the claim that the Supreme Court has banned the use of EVMs is false.
Claim: Supreme Court of India has banned the usage of electronic voting machines (EVMs)
Conclusion: False. The Supreme Court of India did not ban the EVMs.
Rating: Misleading — 
