SC dismisses Jayanagar MLA’s petition

Bengaluru: The Supreme Court Monday dismissed a petition filed by CK Ramamurthy, BJP MLA from Jayanagar assembly constituency, challenging a Karnataka high court order permitting defeated candidate and petitioner Sowmya Reddy to place on record DVD and certain other documents.
"We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned judgment and high court order; hence, the special leave petition is dismissed. However, we clarify that since additional documents in the form of DVDs have been taken on record by HC, which is hearing the election petition, and if the petitioner so wishes, he may file an additional written statement dealing with such additional documents within three weeks. Thereafter, the proceedings may be taken to logical conclusion in accordance with law as expeditiously as possible," a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan observed in its order.
It may be recalled that after a few rounds of counting and recounting, Ramamurthy was declared elected from Jayanagar by a slender margin of 15 votes in May 2023 assembly elections.
Challenging the same, Sowmya Reddy had claimed she was in the lead in the EVM vote count and added there were discrepancies in the counting of 800-odd postal ballots; the number kept varying every time.