The Supreme Court has upheld the election of Congress MLA K Y Nanjegowda from Malur constituency in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly polls, setting aside the Karnataka High Court’s decision that had nullified his victory and ordered a recount. A recount supervised by the Election Commission showed Nanjegowda maintained a lead of 250 votes over BJP’s K S Manjunath Gowda.
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the election of Congress candidate K Y Nanjegowda from Malur in the 2023 Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections, setting aside the Karnataka High Court’s earlier order that had annulled his victory and called for a recount and fresh declaration.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted that the recount, conducted in compliance with the High Court’s direction and submitted in a sealed cover by the Election Commission of India (ECI), reaffirmed Nanjegowda’s lead.
“According to the recount, the appellant secured 50,957 votes while the BJP candidate K S Manjunath Gowda polled 50,707 votes,” the bench observed.
Stating that Nanjegowda’s election “remained unaffected” even after the recount, the Court allowed the appeal filed by the Congress MLA and upheld his election.
“Consequently, we allow this appeal, to the extent that the impugned decision of setting aside the election of appellant is set aside and the election of the appellant from Malur is upheld,” the bench ruled.
In the 2023 Assembly polls, Nanjegowda had defeated BJP’s Manjunath Gowda by a narrow margin of 248 votes. Challenging the result, the BJP candidate filed an election petition in the Karnataka High Court, alleging irregularities in the vote counting process.
The High Court, agreeing with the petitioner, had set aside Nanjegowda’s election and directed the ECI to conduct a recount and declare fresh results.
However, the Supreme Court in October 2023 stayed the declaration of the fresh result, allowing Nanjegowda to continue as an MLA pending final adjudication, and directed the Election Commission to carry out the recount and submit the result in a sealed cover without making it public.
Now, with the recount validating Nanjegowda’s original win by a margin of 250 votes, the top court has set aside the High Court judgment and reaffirmed his electoral mandate.
