K’taka HC orders re-verification of postal ballots in Sringeri, stays order for two weeks
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has ordered the re-verification of 279 postal ballots in the Sringeri Assembly constituency following a petition challenging the election of Congress MLA T.D. Rajegowda.
The High Court, after hearing the matter on Monday, directed that the re-examination be completed within two weeks. The order was issued in connection with the election dispute involving Congress MLA T.D. Rajegowda and BJP candidate D.N. Jeevaraj.
The order was passed by a bench headed by Justice R. Nataraj while hearing a petition filed by defeated BJP candidate D.N. Jeevaraj, who had sought to declare Rajegowda’s election invalid.
It may be noted that the 279 rejected postal ballots are considered crucial, as their re-evaluation could significantly impact the final outcome of the election. If a substantial number of these votes are found to be in favour of Jeevaraj, it could potentially alter the result.
Jeevaraj alleged that Rajegowda had won the 2023 Assembly election by a narrow margin of around 200 votes and claimed there were irregularities in the counting of postal ballots. He also alleged that the winning candidate had spent Rs 120 crore during the election and stated that he possessed circumstantial evidence to support the claim.
During the hearing, counsel for Rajegowda requested the court to stay its order, stating that an appeal would be filed before the Supreme Court. The plea was opposed by Jeevaraj’s counsel. After hearing both sides, the High Court permitted the filing of an appeal and granted an interim stay on its own order for a period of two weeks.
Earlier, Rajegowda had sought dismissal of Jeevaraj’s petition, but the High Court had refused to do so. He then approached the Supreme Court, which disposed of his plea while allowing the matter to continue before the High Court and permitting the petitioner to raise objections.
With the interim stay in place for two weeks, further proceedings in the case are expected to depend on the outcome of the proposed appeal before the Supreme Court.
The Karnataka High Court has observed irregularities in the counting process in the Sringeri Assembly constituency and has ordered a re-examination of 279 rejected postal ballots out of the total 2,101 votes cast through postal voting.
During the proceedings, the advocate representing MLA Rajegowda sought three weeks’ time to file an appeal before the Supreme Court. However, the court granted two weeks for the same. Authorities, including the District Election Authority, have been informed in this regard.
In the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election for the Sringeri constituency, Congress candidate T.D. Rajegowda secured 59,171 votes, while BJP’s D.N. Jeevaraj polled 58,970 votes. Rajegowda won the seat by a narrow margin of just 201 votes.
Given the slim margin of victory, the re-examination of the rejected postal ballots assumes critical importance, and the final outcome will depend on the findings of the recount exercise ordered by the High Court.
It may be recalled that in the Malur Assembly constituency in Kolar district, Congress leader K.Y. Nanjegowda’s election had initially been set aside by the court, which had ordered a re-count. However, Nanjegowda retained his victory in the subsequent re-count, bringing the matter to a close.
