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CHANDIGARH: Just days before elections to Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats in, the (ECI) on Thursday informed the that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) requisitioned for the civic polls were already “in transit” from to Punjab and that the remaining commissioning process could be completed in “just one day”.

The submission assumes significance because the Punjab State Election Commission (SEC) had earlier cited logistical difficulties and lack of sufficient time as reasons for deciding to conduct the May 27 municipal elections through ballot papers instead of EVMs.

High Court seeks clarity from Punjab SEC

The matter came up before a Bench headed by Chief Justice, which had a day earlier sought clarification from the Punjab State Election Commission regarding its decision to switch to ballot papers.

The court was examining a petition challenging the SEC’s move and questioning whether EVM-based polling could still be conducted before the scheduled election date.

Appearing for the ECI, counsel referred to a communication dated May 20 sent to the Punjab SEC and argued that the concerns earlier raised by the state poll body had now been adequately addressed.

‘Machines are already in transit’

During the hearing, the ECI informed the Bench that the EVMs had already been dispatched from Rajasthan after Punjab authorities allegedly showed reluctance in independently lifting the machines.

“The machines are in transit. As we speak, they are in transit,” the court was told.

The ECI further stated that the machines were being transported directly from Rajasthan to and would be made available to Punjab authorities without delay.

“We are getting them delivered from Rajasthan to Mohali, to Punjab,” counsel for the ECI submitted.

Only delivery coordination pending

According to the ECI, the only requirement remaining was for the Punjab State Election Commission to identify the location for delivery and designate an officer authorised to formally receive the EVMs.

The Commission also assured the court that it would facilitate first-level checking and commissioning of the machines.

‘Commissioning requires just one day’

A major point of contention during the proceedings related to the time required for commissioning the EVMs.

The Punjab SEC had earlier maintained that even if EVMs were made available immediately, deployment-related procedures including commissioning would require 15 to 18 days, making EVM-based polling impractical with less than a week left before elections.

However, the ECI disputed this claim before the court and stated that the commissioning process was “just a one-day process”.

The submission directly contradicted the state poll panel’s earlier stand and strengthened the petitioners’ argument that elections could still be conducted using EVMs.

Petition challenges switch to ballot papers

The case arises from a petition challenging the Punjab SEC’s decision to abandon EVM-based polling and revert to ballot papers for the upcoming civic body elections.

On Wednesday, the ECI had filed a detailed timeline before the court disputing the SEC’s version and contending that delays were attributable to the state election body rather than the national poll panel.

The High Court had subsequently directed the Punjab SEC to place its position and related correspondence on record through an affidavit.

Senior advocates and appeared for the petitioners in the matter.

Punjab government opposes interference

Earlier, had opposed the petition on grounds of maintainability.

Referring to Supreme Court precedents, Bedi argued that once the election notification had been issued, the election process should not ordinarily be interfered with by the courts.

The matter is politically significant as the civic elections are being closely watched across Punjab amid heightened political competition between the ruling, the, the and regional parties. The High Court is expected to continue hearing the matter amid the rapidly approaching election date.