The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday asked Punjab State Election Commission to produce a communication of the Election Commission of India (ECI) regarding unavailability of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for upcoming local body polls in the State.

A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry passed the order after hearing two petitions challenging the State Election Commission's decision to use ballot papers instead of EVMs in the upcoming municipal elections in Punjab.

The elections for the local bodies in Punjab are scheduled to be held on May 26 with the counting of votes scheduled to take place on May 29.

The counsel appearing for the State Election Commission earlier told the Court that it was informed that EVMs would be available only after May 10.

"We procure EVMs from the Election Commission of India. When the notification was issued, we wrote a letter to the ECI to get EVMs. What they have written is that EVMs were in assembly elections," the counsel said.

The counsel added that it would have been too late to then transport the EVMs to Punjab.

Senior Advocate Chetan Mittal, representing petitioners, argued that even if the Election Commission has an option to use either EVMs or ballot papers, they still have to explain their decision.

Senior Advocate Amit Jhanji, also appearing for petitioners, submitted that till November-December 2025, EVMs were continuously used except in Zila Parishad polls of two districts in Punjab.

"Where is the explanation for you to dispense with the EVM system and come back to the paper ballot system when the Supreme Court has said that you can't go back to the old system," Jhanji said.

The petitioners have argued that use of EVMs in the polls would minimize any malpractices and speed up the counting process.

The hearing in the matter will continue on Wednesday.