On February 15, 2024, a unanimous decision by a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court declared Centre’s electoral bond scheme unconstitutional. They highlighted that the scheme infringes upon the Right to Information as outlined in Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. Against the background, a video of a press conference featuring certain individuals has circulated on social media platforms asserting that the apex court has banned the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
A Facebook user posted with a caption: “चुनाव आयोग को लगा तगड़ा झटका ! सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने लिया बड़ा फ़ैसला ! BJP में मचा हड़कंप !देश के जो उद्योगपतियों ने भाजपा को करोड़ों का चंदा दिया उनके ख़िलाफ़ होगा FIR ? सुप्रीम कोर्ट के वकील करेंगे ED का घेराव ! (English translation: Election Commission got a big blow! Supreme Court took a big decision! There was a stir in BJP! Will there be an FIR against the industrialists of the country who donated crores of rupees to BJP? Supreme Court lawyers will surround ED!).”
You can check the post here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the viral post, and found it to be false.
Running a Reverse Image Search on the video keyframes, the NM team traced the extended version of the viral video on YouTube uploaded by Voice News Network, dated February 15, 2024, with a title: “चुनाव से पहले लगा तगड़ा झटका, सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने लिया बड़ा फैसला, बीजेपी में मचा हड़कप (English translation: Big shock before the elections, Supreme Court took a big decision, created panic in BJP).”
Upon watching the video, it’s clear that the person in the white shirt talked about the Supreme Court’s decision on electoral bonds, criticising the government. Towards the end, he opposed electronic voting machines (EVMs), saying they violate the Constitution, and urged people to unite against them for the Supreme Court to take action. We found that these individuals are lawyers who have been campaigning against EVMs for an extended period. They have also formed an organisation “EVM Hatao Sanyukt Morcha”, which is consistently protesting against the use of EVMs. The person speaking in the viral video is Mahmood Pracha.
We could not find any report stating that the apex court has banned the usage EVMs. However, an X post by PIB Fact Check (Press Information Bureau), dated February 15, 2024, refutes a similar claim that the EVMs were banned by the Supreme Court of India.
Thus, we can conclusively say that the viral claims are baseless, as the Supreme Court of India has, in fact, banned Centre’s electoral bond scheme, NOT the usage of EVMs.
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