Karnataka High Court sets aside election of Malur Congress MLA Nanjegowda, orders votes to be recounted

Gowda sought to have Nanjegowda’s election declared void, a recount of votes, and for him to be declared the elected candidate. Gowda lost to Nanjegowda by a narrow margin of 248 votes in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections.

In its order, the court noted that other than the recording of the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) process, the video recording of the election counting had not been made available by the district election officer (DEO). The petitioner’s counsel had alleged that it was withheld to avoid judicial scrutiny.

Gowda’s counsel stated that their main allegation was that votes were improperly accepted in favour of Nanjegowda and the rejection of votes that would have favoured the BJP leader, but the video recordings, which could have verified this, were withheld. The counsel also alleged that the returning officer had not passed any order on the petitioner’s recount application.

Other allegations included obtaining signatures from the petitioner’s counting agents even before opening of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), not obtaining the signature of said counting agents for the required Form 17C Part II, and the entry of unauthorised persons in the counting centre.

Among its acknowledgement of various discrepancies, the court took particular notice of the absence of the aforementioned video recording. “ …during the course of the proceedings, when the DEO failed to produce the video recordings, this Court issued notice to the Election Commission of India… the reply given by the service provider that it had handed over the hard disk containing the video recordings, and upon receipt of all the data, a completion certificate was issued to them by the DEO. The Election Commission of India is aware of all these developments; however, all efforts made by this Court to secure the video recordings have gone in vain,” said the court.

Among the points supporting the case for a recount, the bench pointed out that in the Supreme Court case of Vijay Bahadur, the absence of records from the presiding officer made the election’s outcome questionable, demonstrating the importance of maintaining all documentation.

“The Election Commission of India is also directed to take note of the fact that the district election officer has failed to furnish the video recording before this court. Appropriate action shall be taken against the district election officer, in accordance with law,” the court also stated.

Based on a plea by Nanjegowda’s counsel, the bench placed a 30-day hold on its order, which will allow the Congress leader to move the Supreme Court in the interim.

The detailed order from the Karnataka High Court is still awaited.

Reacting to the High Court order on social media, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R Ashoka, called it a “direct indictment” of the Congress party’s politics. Ashoka also questioned if Rahul Gandhi would now launch a “Vote Chori Yatra” against Nanjegowda, adding, “…..wherever there is Congress, there is Vote Chori and Dhokha.”

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