Karnataka HC nullifies Congress MLA's election, orders re-count

Bengaluru, Sep 16 (IANS) In a major development, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday nullified the election of Congress MLA K.Y. Nanjegowda from the Malur Assembly constituency in the 2023 polls and also ordered a recount.

A bench of Justice R. Devdas pronounced the verdict on a petition filed by the defeated BJP candidate K.S. Manjunath Gowda.

However, the court has allowed MLA Nanjegowda to file an appeal to the Supreme Court within 30 days. If the apex court does not give any relief, the Congress legislator will lose his seat.

Earlier, the court said that a recount must be completed within four weeks and the results must be declared.

Manjunath Gowda has moved the High Court, seeking a recount of votes polled in the Assembly elections, as the margin between him and Nanjegowda was just 248.

The BJP candidate had claimed that counting officials called him on the phone and said that he had won the elections. But later, it was announced that the Congress candidate had won by a margin of 248 votes. Hence, he had moved the court, seeking a recount of the votes polled.

The election petition was presented under Sections 81 of the Representation of the People's Act, 1951, and Rule 4 of the Karnataka Election Petition Rules.

Manjunath Gowda has prayed the court to call for records, documents, videos, computers, including the one where the rejection order was drafted, and all further material and data regarding the election, including the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the postal ballots, the videography and computations relating to elections, and to hold them in custody.

The petition further demanded to set aside the election of Nanjegowda on the grounds mentioned under Section 100 (1) (d), (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) as enumerated therein and to declare him as the elected candidate from the Malur constituency.

--IANS

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