After ABVP win, DU told to secure EVMs
New Delhi, Sep 17 : The Delhi High Court on Monday directed Delhi University's Chief Electoral Officer to secure the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in DUSU elections till the next date of hearing and issued notices to the Centre, the university and others.
"The Chief Electoral Officer, appointed by University of Delhi to conduct elections of the DUSU elections, is directed to ensure that the EVMs, utilised for the conduct of the polling and counting of votes, along with all paper trail/documentation are kept in a secured place under his lock and key, till the next date of hearing," Justice Siddharth Mridul said.
The court asked the Central government, Delhi University, its Chief Electoral Officer, the Election Commission and the three victorious Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) candidates to file their replies within three weeks and fixed October 29 for hearing.
The court was hearing a plea by the National Students Union of India (NSUI) candidates Sunny Chhillar, Leena and Saurabh Yadav who challenged the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) election results declared on Thursday.
The plea sought quashing of election results as unconstitutional, arbitrary and illegal and sought fresh polls through ballot papers.
The RSS-affiliated ABVP won three of the four top DUSU seats. ABVP candidate Ankiv Basoya was elected the DUSU President while Shakti Singh and Jyoti Chaudhary were elected the Vice President and as Joint Secretary respectively.
NSUI's Akash Chaudhary defeated ABVP's Sudhir Dedha to win the Secretary's post.
The petitioner has alleged that that they were aggrieved by the arbitrary, corrupt and unfair election conducted by the university as out of 126 EVMs used, seven went missing and the same was reported to the authorities.
They alleged that Chillar was leading his opponent by 4,200 votes by noon but all of a sudden they stopped the counting on the ground of EVM malfunctioning and resumed counting after 5-6 hours. The entire process was marred by tampering of EVMs, the plea said.
The plea alleged that EVMs were tampered with and questioned as to how "privately procured" EVMs could have been used in the polls held on September 12.
Countering NSUI's submission, Central government standing counsel Anil Soni said the same EVMs were used in the DUSU elections held in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2017 but no objections were raised that time.
The NSUI candidates alleged that the elections were conducted in an "arbitrary, corrupt and unfair" manner by the university and DU was acting under extraneous pressure.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
