In an interim order, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday stayed all further investigation in a crime registered against BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj, who has been accused of tampering with ballot papers during the recounting process held in the state’s Sringeri Assembly constituency on May 2.
“Court is of the prima facie view that it (FIR) should be stayed. Under political pressure, police should not file FIR. This is nothing but abuse of the process,” a vacation bench of Justice V Srishananda said, while hearing a petition filed by Jeevaraj. The interim order is till May 7, the next date of hearing.
In the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, Congress candidate T D Rajegowda was declared the winner after polling 59,171 votes. Jeevaraj secured 58,970, a difference of 201 votes.
Jeevaraj challenged the results by filing an election petition before the high court. On April 6 this year, the court partly allowed it and directed re-verification 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 had 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 declared the winner by 52 votes. Soon after, the Chikkamagaluru Town police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Jeevaraj, former deputy commissioner K N Ramesh, former returning officer Vedamurthy, and others on May 3, under several charges, including forgery and criminal conspiracy.
The FIR was lodged based on a complaint filed by Sudhir Kumar Murolli, a polling agent for Rajegowda, who alleged that 255 ballot papers cast in Rajegowda’s favour had been tampered with during the recount.
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‘Double ticks on postal ballots’
Special Public Prosecutor B A Belliappa pointed out that the votes had been tampered with as there were double ticks on the postal ballot votes. Murolli, before filing the FIR, allegedly raised a protest before the returning officer, but no action was taken on it. Further, he argued that postal ballots, which are not supposed to be recounted, were also counted.
The bench said, “The recounting was under direction of the high court and the agent could have approached court, highlighting the discrepancies and sought clarification.” The court also orally said that if there has been a deviation in the counting of votes, then filing of an election petition could be the option available to the defeated candidate.
The court has permitted the prosecution to produce all the necessary material to prove its case on the next date of hearing. Further, the court observed that it wishes that the present returning officer, Gaurav Kumar Shetty, be also made an accused in the case.
‘Belated attempt to reopen issues’
As per Jeevaraj’s petition—seeking to quash the May 3, 2026, FIR—the allegations pertain to the very same counting process and postal ballot verification, which were the subject matter of a detailed adjudication before the court in the election petition.
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“The present complaint is nothing but a belated and motivated attempt to reopen issues which have already attained finality through judicial determination. The allegations are conspicuously raised only after declaration of results and are clearly intended to overreach and nullify the effect of the judgment and the subsequent declaration in favour of the petitioner,” the petition states.
The petitioner also claimed that the FIR was only registered subsequent to a statement made by Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president D K Shivakumar. Speaking to reporters, he had said that Jeevaraj had conspired with some officers and tampered with the postal votes.
