‘Won’t Accept Lame Excuses’: SC Pulls Up ECI Over Missing 2023 Karnataka Poll Footage

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has pulled up the Election Commission of India (ECI) over its failure to trace the video recording of the 2023 vote counting in Karnataka’s Sringeri Assembly constituency, warning that it could draw an adverse inference against the poll body if it fails to produce the available records.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva expressed strong displeasure after the ECI informed the court that the footage of the original counting could not be traced. The bench questioned how the poll body could lose records relating to an election it was responsible for conducting.

“How can the Election Commission of India say that it has lost the records? Your whole purpose is to hold an election, and you need to have a document,” the bench observed.

Rejecting the Commission’s explanation that efforts were being made to locate the footage, the court directed it to produce whatever records and video recordings were available by the next hearing.

“Whatever you have, produce it on the next date. Otherwise, we will have to draw an adverse inference against you. We will not accept these kinds of lame excuses,” the bench said.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on February 15, 2027.

What Is The Sringeri Election Dispute?

The case concerns a dispute between Congress leader TD Rajegowda and BJP candidate DN Jeevaraj over the Sringeri Assembly constituency in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections.

Rajegowda was initially declared the winner by a narrow margin of 201 votes. Jeevaraj subsequently challenged the result before the Karnataka High Court, seeking a recount of postal ballots.

On April 6, 2026, the High Court ordered a recount, including the re-verification of 279 postal ballots that had initially been rejected. Following the exercise, the returning officer announced a revised result on May 3, declaring Jeevaraj the winner.

Rajegowda challenged the revised result before the Supreme Court, arguing that the recount process had gone beyond the scope of the High Court’s directions.

Why The Missing Footage Matters

During the Supreme Court proceedings, Rajegowda sought access to the election observer’s report and video recordings of both the original counting in 2023 and the subsequent recount.

When the bench asked the ECI to produce the relevant material, senior advocate Seshadri Naidu, appearing for the Commission, submitted that the video recording of the original counting could not be traced.

The explanation drew a sharp response from the bench, which questioned the Commission’s ability to preserve records essential to examining an election dispute.

The missing footage assumes significance because the legal challenge concerns the handling of postal ballots and the process through which the original election result was overturned.

Rajegowda has alleged that while the High Court ordered the re-verification of 279 rejected postal ballots, the returning officer went beyond that direction by reconsidering 562 postal ballots that had already been accepted as valid and were in his favour.

He has also challenged the High Court’s decision to order the recount, questioning the exercise in light of the findings on corruption allegations raised during the election dispute.

SC Allows Rajegowda To Continue As MLA

In May 2026, the Supreme Court granted interim relief to Rajegowda, directing that he continue as the MLA while his challenge to the revised election result remained pending.

The latest hearing has placed the ECI’s missing records at the centre of the proceedings, with the bench directing the poll body to place all available material before it at the next hearing.

The court’s warning that it could draw an adverse inference against the Commission signals that the failure to produce the requested records could have implications for its assessment of the pending dispute. The final outcome of the challenge to the Sringeri election result remains pending before the Supreme Court.

ALSO READ: Ankita Bhandari’s Parents Released After Overnight Detention at India Gate Protest