The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday lambasted the Election Commission of India (ECI) over its failure to trace video footage pertaining to the original vote count in Karnataka’s Sringeri Assembly Constituency, warning that it could draw an adverse inference against the poll body if the available records were not produced before it.

An SC bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva told the ECI, “We will not accept these kinds of lame excuses,” while hearing a petition filed by Congress leader TD Rajegowda, whose electoral victory was overturned following a recount of the postal ballots.

The top court directed the ECI to produce whatever records it had by the next hearing, underlining that maintaining election-related documents was fundamental to the electoral process.

SC questions missing records

The controversy surfaced when the court sought the election observer’s report and footage of the original count which took place in 2023, along with videos of the recount conducted in May 2026. Senior advocate Seshadri Naidu, representing the ECI, informed the bench that the original counting footage could not be traced.

The judges were quick to respond to the irregularity, and questioned how the poll body could claim to have lost such crucial records. It further warned the ECI that failure to produce the available documents could lead it to draw an adverse inference against the commission.

The matter will next be heard on February 15, 2027, the court said.

How a 201-vote victory was overturned?

The dispute traces its roots to the 2023 Karnataka Assembly Elections, in which Rajegowda defeated BJP candidate DN Jeevaraj by just 201 votes in Sringeri. Jeevaraj then challenged the result before the Karnataka High Court (HC). On April 6, 2026, the HC issued orders to recount the postal ballots, including the re-verification of 279 ballots rejected during the original counting.

Rajegowda knocked on the doors of the Supreme Court, alleging that the returning officer had exceeded the HC’s directives by reopening ballots that had already been accepted as valid.

Recount order sparks fresh legal battle

The Supreme Court, in an order dated May 11, noted that the returning officer had re-examined not only the 279 rejected postal ballots, but also 1,251 ballots declared valid earlier. The bench ruled that the exercise appeared to have extended beyond the HC’s directions and that the consequential steps were, prima facie, without legal foundation. The recount invalidated 255 votes earlier counted in Rajegowda’s favour and added two votes to Jeevaraj’s tally. This altered the outcome, providing the BJP candidate a victory margin of 52 votes. Jeevaraj was later declared elected.

In May this year, the apex court directed the ECI to produce the relevant records and kept further steps arising from the recount in abeyance. The order paved the way for Rajegowda to continue as the MLA while the legal challenge remained under consideration.