Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 16: In an extraordinary and historic move, the Supreme Court of India conducted an EVM vote recount within its own premises—a first in Indian judicial history—and overturned the 2022 Gram Panchayat election result for Buana Lakhu village in Panipat district, Haryana.

The apex court declared Mohit Kumar as the duly elected Sarpanch, replacing Kuldeep Singh, who had held the post for nearly 33 months. The decision was based on a manual EVM recount conducted by the Supreme Court’s Registrar (OSD) under video surveillance and in the presence of both parties.

The case centred on serious counting discrepancies at Booth No. 69, where 254 votes cast for Mohit Kumar were wrongly credited to Kuldeep Singh. While the total vote count stood at 3,767, the corrected tally revealed that Mohit Kumar received 51 votes more than Kuldeep.

Initially, Kuldeep Singh was declared winner and assumed office. However, upon noticing irregularities, the Returning Officer had ordered a recount, which favoured Mohit Kumar. Kuldeep challenged this in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which ruled in his favour, arguing that post-declaration corrections were not valid unless made through an election petition.

Mohit then filed a petition before the Election Tribunal, which in April 2025 ordered a recount at the disputed booth. Kuldeep again approached the High Court, which stayed the Tribunal’s decision. This led Mohit to seek relief from the Supreme Court.

In July, the top court directed that all five EVMs used in the election be presented before its Registrar for a comprehensive recount. On August 11, after reviewing the Registrar’s report—which confirmed Mohit’s lead—the court declared the previous election result void.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and N Kotishwar Singh instructed the Panipat deputy commissioner to issue a fresh notification within two days declaring Mohit Kumar as Sarpanch, allowing him to immediately assume charge.

Mohit was sworn in on Thursday, stating, “Justice was delayed but ultimately delivered. The truth has won, and the entire village is rejoicing.”

The Supreme Court clarified that while other pending disputes may be heard by the Election Tribunal, the Registrar’s recount findings are final and binding.