‘Fairness extends to compensation’: Telangana High Court orders to review claims of landless Karimnagar farmers
3 min readBengaluruUpdated: May 12, 2026 03:58 PM IST Congress candidate T D Rajegowda celebrated in Chikkamagaluru on May 2, claiming that the results were in his favour. (PTI Photo)The Supreme Court on Monday directed Congress leader T D Rajegowda to continue as the MLA for Karnataka’s Sringeri constituency after a recent recount of postal votes polled in the 2023 elections resulted in his defeat by 52 votes. BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj, who was declared the winner, was also sworn in as the MLA. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K Vinod Chandran said in its order, “All steps taken pursuant to the aforestated exercise by the Returning Officer shall remain in abeyance till the next hearing. If that requires restoration of the status quo ante, steps shall be taken in that regard forthwith.”In 2023, Rajegowda won the polls by a margin of 201 votes, defeating Jeevaraj. In June 2023, Jeevaraj moved the Karnataka High Court challenging the result. His election petition alleged irregularities in the counting process and questioned the rejection of 279 postal ballots. On April 6, the high court partly allowed it and directed reverification of 279 rejected postal ballots and a recount of all postal ballots. Accordingly, the recount took place on May 2. In the 2023 count of 1,822 postal ballots polled, Jeevaraj secured 692 votes while Rajegowda received 569. After the reverification and recount, Jeevaraj’s tally stood at 690, while Rajegowda’s dropped to 314—a reduction of 255 votes. Jeevaraj was thus declared the winner by 52 votes. ‘High court judgment goes beyond scope of rule’ Rajegowda then moved the apex court challenging the declaration. The court said in its order, “The judgment dated 06.04.2026 passed by the High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru in Election Petition No. 20/2023 goes beyond the scope of Guideline 15.25 of the Handbook for Returning Officers, 2023.” The guideline mandates that where the margin of victory is less than the number of postal ballot papers rejected as invalid at the time of counting, the returning officer must mandatorily reverify all rejected postal ballot papers before declaring the result. Whenever such reverification is done, the entire proceedings should be videographed. Rajegowda’s counsel informed the court about the results being declared after the recount.Story continues below this ad The bench said, “On the strength of this exercise, which went beyond the scope of what was directed by the High Court, we are informed certain further steps have been taken. As such, further steps are, prima facie, without legal foundation, in the light of what we have recorded above, we are of the opinion that the matter requires deeper examination.” The court directed the Election Commission to produce the relevant records pertaining to the exercise undertaken pursuant to the impugned high court judgment on the next date of hearing. Soon after the recount results arrived, the police registered an FIR against Jeevaraj and others based on a complaint filed by Rajegowda’s polling agent, alleging that 255 ballot papers cast for the Congress candidate had been tampered with. The high court last week stayed all further investigation in the case.
