Overview
- The Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed public interest petitions on Friday, May 22, and allowed municipal elections scheduled for May 26 to proceed using ballot papers.
- The Election Commission told the court it had approved and dispatched 6,300 ballot units (BU) and 5,980 control units (CU) from Rajasthan on May 21 but the bench said it was too late to force a change to voting mode.
- The court noted the law deliberately keeps ballot papers as an option to deal with illiteracy, poverty and local logistics and declined to decide a dispute over which agency delayed EVM requisition.
- The State Election Commission told judges it had already started printing ballot papers and spent about ₹50 lakh, argued there was insufficient time for commissioning and training, and warned of possible machine malfunctions if switched now.
- Petitioners were given liberty to challenge results after polling, and the ruling could prompt election‑time legal fights and voter confidence debates as counting is set for May 29.