"Mob Moves These Petitions": Mahesh Jetmalani On Verdict In VVPAT Case

Alleging that there is a "cabal" operating in the Supreme Court, senior lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani has termed the VVPAT verification petition - on which the court gave its judgment today - motivated and said the intention was to cast a doubt on the sanctity of India's electoral processes. 

Hitting out at the petitioners in such cases in an exclusive interview with NDTV, Mr Jethmalani also called them "bad losers".

Giving its verdict on the petition today, in which it gave a thumbs-up to the current electoral processes - with two tweaks - the Supreme Court bench also made stern remarks against the petitioners. "A trend has been fast developing of certain vested interest groups endeavouring to undermine the achievements and accomplishments of the nation," Justice Dipankar Datta, one of the two judges on the bench, said. 

Reacting to the Supreme Court's judgment, Mr Jethmalani said, "You have got a judicial seal of approval on the sanctity and integrity of the EVM system of conducting elections. But this is a repetition of the past, it has already happened before. In 2019, the court had already been through and given it their endorsement. So these are all motivated litigations. As the Supreme Court pointed out this time, it was based only on suspicion. There were no hard facts to invoke the jurisdiction of the court. 

"It is a motivated petition, it is really done by a bunch of people who are not so much concerned about strengthening our electoral process, but casting a doubt on the sanctity of our democratic processes... In my view, this is an extremely anti-national step to keep casting doubt on the integrity of the process. Because, you know, you undermine the legitimacy of the government you don't agree with. You are a bad loser," the senior lawyer thundered. 

Mr Jethmalani said since the issue was serious, the Supreme Court spent some time on it and gave the electoral process another seal of approval. 

"I call them a mob that moves these petitions. Their intent is always questionable and they are really badly motivated rabble-rousers. There is no sense of responsibility in the actions they take, particularly in a really sober institution like the Supreme Court. And they make the world watch. You can go and give press conferences. It's self-publicity and it is at the cost of the nation's institutions," he said. 

'Partisan Petition'

To a question on two new safeguards put in place by the Supreme Court - sealing and storing the symbol loading unit for at least 45 days and allowing checking the burnt memory in the EVM microcontroller if candidates request for it - Mr Jethmalani pointed out that the Election Commission said there was no need for it, but added that it is good that these extra precautions have been put in place. 

"It will now show that the Supreme Court has not only examined the issue yet another time, but examined it to the point of such care that they don't want any future reopening of the issue," he said.

Mounting an attack on the opposition and Senior Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who represented the Association of Democratic Reforms, Mr Jethmalani claimed that the BJP never questions EVMs when parties opposing them win the elections. 

"Look at the motives of someone like Prashant Bhushan. When the opposition wins in Karnataka or the Left wins in Kerala, then the EVMs are sacrosanct. That's how partisan this is. This is motivated not only from the point of view of undermining BJP victories and India's electoral process, it is also a cabal that operates under the aegis of the opposition. I'm saying that very clearly, and I can prove it. Every time this group has done it... it has never championed causes where the opposition is covered in mud," he said.

Asked about senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Subramanian Swami having raised doubts on electronic voting machines, the Rajya Sabha MP said, "I don't recall Mr Advani ever taking this issue up. What can one say about Dr Subramanian Swami? He's a busybody in court. He goes and he takes up all kinds of issues. Dr Swamy doesn't repeat the same issue over and over. And nobody can accuse Dr Swamy of being partisan. He's a maverick  politician, his guns can be trained on anybody."

Mr Jethmalani also said that the opposition uses these petitioners as a front because it would, otherwise, have to answer why it does not complain about EVMs when it wins.