In a first for Indian electoral history, the Supreme Court ordered a recount of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) votes and overturned a three-year-old election result. The case pertains to the Sarpanch election of Buana Lakhu village in Haryana's Panipat district.
Haryana: The Supreme Court conducted an EVM recount under its supervision. Mohit, the initially defeated candidate in the Sarpanch election of Buana Lakhu village in Israna block of Panipat district, had challenged the High Court's decision. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had refused a recount, but the Supreme Court, within just two months, had the EVMs opened and the votes counted, declaring Mohit victorious by 51 votes. He will be sworn in as Sarpanch on Thursday at the Israna BDO office.
How the Dispute Began
In the Gram Panchayat election held on November 2, 2022, seven candidates were in the fray, but the main contest was between Kuldeep Singh and Mohit Kumar. In the results declared after the voting, Kuldeep was declared the winner and was also given the winning certificate. However, within a few hours of the election results, Mohit was declared the winner in a recount and he was also issued a certificate.
This situation created a scenario where the village had two Sarpanches at the same time. This strange situation gave rise to the dispute, as Kuldeep refused to accept defeat and started a legal battle.
Where Did the Mistake Occur?
The investigation revealed that due to a serious error by the presiding officer at booth number 69, the votes of the two candidates were interchanged. Mohit's votes were added to Kuldeep's account, and Kuldeep's votes to Mohit's account. Based on the totals from all booths, Kuldeep was wrongly declared the winner.
When this error was discovered, the Returning Officer issued a revised result declaring Mohit the winner, but since Kuldeep already had a certificate, he refused to accept it.
High Court's Decision and Supreme Court's Intervention
Kuldeep obtained a stay order from the Punjab and Haryana High Court on November 12, 2022. In a case that lasted for a long time, the High Court, on June 1, 2025, ruled in favor of Kuldeep, refusing to order a recount. Mohit approached the Supreme Court on June 12, 2025. The first hearing took place on July 31, and on July 7 (in the order of hearings), the Supreme Court ordered a recount under its supervision.
For the first time in the country, the Supreme Court conducted a recount of EVM votes under the supervision of its Registrar (OSD). The entire process was also videographed to ensure that there were no questions about transparency. In the counting results, Mohit received 1051 votes and Kuldeep received 1000 votes, making Mohit victorious by 51 votes. On August 11, 2025, a bench of Justices Suryakant, Justice Deepankar Dutta, and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh delivered its verdict, declaring Mohit as the legally elected Sarpanch of Buana Lakhu and ordering the district administration to administer the oath of office within two days.
