Historic EVM Recount Ordered By Supreme Court Overturns Haryana Sarpanch Election
In a rare and unprecedented move, the Supreme Court of India recently ordered a complete recount of votes for a sarpanch election, physically summoning Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and other poll records to its premises. The case involved a contentious election for the village head of Buana Lakhu in Haryana's Panipat district.
The legal battle stemmed from the election held on November 2, 2022, where Kuldeep Singh was initially declared the winner, defeating his rival, Mohit Kumar. Kumar, however, challenged the result, alleging discrepancies in the vote counting. His petition was first heard by an election tribunal in Panipat, which ordered a recount of votes from a single booth. This order was subsequently set aside by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, prompting Kumar to appeal to the Supreme Court.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and N Kotiswar Singh took up the matter. On July 31, the apex court issued a significant directive: it ordered the production of all six EVMs and associated records from the Buana Lakhu election before its registrar. The bench decided to go a step further than the initial tribunal's order, demanding a recount of votes from all booths (65 to 70), not just the one in dispute.
The recounting process, a truly remarkable event, was conducted inside the Supreme Court building on August 6. It was overseen by a Supreme Court OSD (Registrar) and was fully videographed to ensure transparency. Representatives from both Kuldeep Singh and Mohit Kumar were present throughout the process.
The recount results submitted to the court revealed a decisive shift. Out of 3,767 total votes cast, Mohit Kumar was found to have secured 1,051 votes, while Kuldeep Singh received 1,000 votes. Accepting this report, the Supreme Court, on August 11, set aside the Punjab and Haryana High Court's verdict and directed the Deputy Commissioner of Panipat to issue a notification within two days, declaring Mohit Kumar as the duly elected sarpanch.
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