Bombay Parsi Punchayet tells HC it will use EVMs to elect trustees

In light of the apprehension of the financial burden, a member of the community offered to foot the cost of deputing VVPAT EVMs over and above the cost of conducting the election by donating ₹1 crore.

The Bombay Parsi Punchayet may become the first community in the country to use VVPAT EVM machines in their internal election, the date of which will be decided by the Bombay high court. The proposal to use the electoral machines was put forward by three of the current five trustees who approached the court seeking to make comprehensive amendments to the Scheme for Elections of Trustees with the Code of Conduct for the yet to be announced elections.

The HC also brushed aside speculation about the susceptibility of the use of VVPAT EVM’s for voting during the elections as well as the financial burden it would put on the Punchayet after a member volunteered to donate for requisitioning the machines. The court said that the proposal would be included in the scheme for elections and invited objections and suggestions during the hearing of the petition on February 22.

The division bench of justice S J Kathawalla and justice Milind Jadhav while hearing the miscellaneous petition filed by the trustees of the Punchayet was informed by the lawyers that apart from the clauses to be amended, the proposed scheme should provide for casting and counting of votes by VVPAT Electronic Voting Machines.

However, two of the trustees expressed their objection to this change citing the susceptibility of the machines to abuse and also putting a financial burden on the resources of the trust. However, as three out of the five trustees, by the majority, agreed to have a clause providing for the casting of votes by VVPAT EVMs, the dissenting trustees agreed that the revised comprehensive scheme, which would be submitted for sanction of the court, may incorporate casting of votes by VVPAT EVMs.

The two trustees, however, stated that their dissent should be recorded and their right to be heard when the proposed scheme came up for consideration and sanction before the court would remain open, which the bench accepted.

In light of the apprehension of the financial burden on the trust, a member of the community offered to foot the cost of deputing VVPAT EVMs over and above the cost of conducting the election by paper ballot by donating ₹1 crore.

The member stated that the trust could use the donation in the form of a corpus to meet the cost of deploying VVPAT EVMs and the balance amount available after the election may be invested to meet the cost of deploying VVPAT EVMs in subsequent elections.

After hearing the submissions, the bench asked all the present trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet to jointly tender a revised Scheme for Elections of the Trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet which included a Code of Conduct.

The bench then directed the trustees to put out a public notice along with the copy of the revised scheme and invite any person interested in making any submissions with respect to the proposed amendments and additions to the existing Scheme on February 22, 2022, and to place it before the court either through video conference or physical hearing.

The bench remarked that once the miscellaneous petition was decided it would fix the schedule for elections for the post of all 7 trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet.

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