The Supreme Court has warned the Election Commission that it could draw an adverse inference if it fails to produce the original video and related records from the 2023 vote counting in Karnataka’s Sringeri Assembly constituency. The warning came during the hearing of MLA T.D. Rajegowda’s special leave petition challenging the recount of postal ballots in the constituency.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva directed the Election Commission to place all relevant documents before the court. The bench was responding to the submission by the poll panel’s lawyer that the video of the recount had been submitted, but the video of the original 2023 counting was not available.
The judges questioned how an important election record could be unavailable. When the Election Commission’s lawyer said that the transfer of officials had made it difficult to provide the documents, the bench rejected the explanation. The court said the absence of officials because of transfers could not justify the non-availability of significant election records.
The bench warned that failure to submit the required records could lead to an adverse inference against the Election Commission. It adjourned the matter to February 15, when the case is scheduled to come up again.
The dispute relates to the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election, in which Rajegowda defeated BJP candidate D.N. Jeevaraj by 201 votes in Sringeri. A total of 1,811 postal ballots were cast in the constituency. Jeevaraj later filed an election petition before the Karnataka High Court, seeking a recount and a fresh declaration of the result.
The petition referred to provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and instructions in the Election Commission’s handbook for election officials. It sought consideration of alleged irregularities and omissions in the election process, along with a recount of votes cast in the constituency.
The High Court ordered a recount of postal ballots, which was subsequently conducted. Of the 1,540 postal ballots that had been treated as valid in 2023, 255 were declared invalid during the recount. The change affected Rajegowda’s position as the elected representative, while Jeevaraj was declared elected after securing a lead of 52 votes.
Rajegowda challenged that development before the Supreme Court. The court restored him as the MLA, and the broader dispute over the election records and recount remains before the bench. The next hearing will determine whether the Election Commission submits the original counting video and the other documents sought by the court.
