The Karnataka High Court has directed the re-verification of 279 rejected postal ballots from the Sringeri Assembly constituency, a move that could potentially impact the narrow results of the 2023 state elections.
The order was passed by Justice R Nataraj on Monday while hearing an election petition filed by D N Jeevaraj, the defeated Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate. Jeevaraj had challenged the victory of the incumbent Congress MLA, T D Rajegowda, who secured the seat by a slim margin of just 201 votes.
In his petition, Jeevaraj contested the legality of Rajegowda’s election, alleging that the rejection of nearly 300 postal ballots was improper and could have altered the final outcome given the thin victory margin. Under the Election Commission’s guidelines, specifically Rule 15, a recount is often mandatory if the margin of victory is less than the number of rejected postal ballots.
The court has now instructed the Returning Officer (RO) to conduct a thorough re-verification of these 279 rejected ballots.
Justice Nataraj’s order clarifies that the subsequent steps depend entirely on the findings of this re-verification. If the process reveals that ballots were incorrectly rejected or if the new tally shifts the balance, the Returning Officer is mandated to:
- Conduct a formal recounting of the postal ballots.
- Announce the revised results based on the updated count.
Immediately following the ruling, counsel for T D Rajegowda requested a stay to allow the Congress leader to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court. Recognizing the significance of the matter, the High Court has granted a two-week stay on the implementation of the re-verification order.
This development keeps the political future of the Sringeri seat in limbo as the legal battle moves toward the highest court in the country.
