Balasore LS poll: Orissa HC allows opening of strong room

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday allowed opening of the strong room where EVMs and VVPATs used in the election held on April 29, 2019 for Balasore Lok Sabha constituency are stored. The EVMs and VVPATs have been preserved in the strong room due to an election dispute. Justice SK Sahoo allowed opening of the strong room after dismissing a petition that had challenged the election of BJP MP Pratap Sarangi from Balasore in 2019, on Wednesday.

“The district election officer is allowed to open the strong room, remove the EVMs and VVPATs for any future election or any  other purpose and also allowed for transportation of EVMs to other states/manufacturing companies or to the warehouse of Election Commission of India as per norms/guidelines of the Election Commission of India (ECI)”, Justice Sahoo said.

ECI had sought permission for opening of the strong room. ECI counsel Gopal Kumar Agarwal submitted the EVMs and VVPATs are not the subject matter of the election dispute and if they are released, the petition proceedings will not be hampered in anyway.

Md Sahirulhak Haque, a resident of Chandipur and voter of Balasore Lok Sabha constituency had filed the petition on July 8, 2019. It was admitted and summons issued on February 7, 2020.  The election petition had gone without hearing since March 13, 2020. After the hearing on Wednesday, Justice Sahoo said, “In the meantime, more than three years have passed. Today, Sidharth Prasad Das, counsel for the election petitioner submitted that he has no instruction in the matter. In view of such submission, the election  petition stands dismissed.”

Sarangi, who was elected in 2019, had defeated BJD’s Rabindra Jena by a margin of 12,956 votes. The petition challenged the election of Sarangi on the ground that during filing of nomination papers he had not declared complete and correct information regarding his movable and immovable assets and criminal cases pending against him.