Khushi Doshi
Published on: March 7, 2022 at 11:29 IST
The Bombay High Court recently ordered that all seven Trustees of Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) be Elected on May 29. With this, the BPP could become one of the First Organisations representing Religious Communities to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Trail Machines) system for voting and counting during its trustee election.
“All Votes cast shall be counted immediately after the Election and shall be completed on the same date.” On the same day, the election results will be announced. “However, no such declaration will be considered invalid if the counting process is completed after midnight on that day,” the Bench stated.
According to the High Court schedule, the deadline for submitting a candidature is April 4, and it can be withdrawn on or before May 8.
The Final Candidate list will be released on or before May 15. The Election results will be posted on the BPP notice board by May 30, and the newly elected Trustee will take office on May 31.
Allowing the use of VVPAT-EVM for the upcoming polls, the High Court-approved Scheme read:
“Provided, however, that in the event of changed circumstances, the Trustees may unanimously agree that the casting of Votes be done by Paper Ballot instead of EVMs for a particular Election. All necessary safeguards will be put in place by the Election Commissioners for ensuring the sanctity of secret ballots and safekeeping of the Paper Ballots.”
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