Tue Sep 16 15:48:30 UTC 2025: **Headline: Karnataka High Court Orders Recount in Malur Assembly Constituency, Cites Missing Vote Counting Video**

**Bengaluru, September 16, 2025** – The Karnataka High Court has ordered a recount of votes in the Malur Assembly constituency in Kolar district, setting aside the 2023 election of Congress candidate K.Y. Nanje Gowda. The ruling came after the District Election Officer (DEO) failed to produce video recordings of the vote counting process, hindering the court’s ability to investigate allegations of illegalities raised by the defeated BJP candidate, K.S. Manjunath Gowda.

Justice R. Devdas issued the order, partially upholding Mr. Manjunath Gowda’s election petition. The court directed the DEO and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct the recount and declare fresh results within four weeks, adhering to all legal procedures.

The High Court has stayed its order for 30 days, allowing Mr. Nanje Gowda to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Mr. Manjunath Gowda’s petition outlined several alleged irregularities during the counting process, including premature signing of documents by counting agents, the Returning Officer’s (RO) failure to address recounting requests, vote tabulation errors, missing signatures on crucial forms, and unauthorized access to the counting center.

The High Court emphasized that these allegations could have been easily verified with the DEO’s video recording, which the ECI mandates to ensure transparency and accountability. The court noted that the ECI guidelines clearly state that the videos should be properly labeled and sealed for future reference and be made available to candidates upon request.

Despite being summoned to produce the video, the DEO only submitted an affidavit stating the service provider had handed over the hard disk containing the video, followed by a completion certificate issued by the DEO.

Justice Devdas criticized the ECI’s inability to secure the video recordings despite the court’s efforts. The recounting order was issued relying on a recent Supreme Court precedent involving missing polling booth diaries. The ECI has also been directed to take action against the DEO for failing to provide the video evidence.

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