HC's Dharmapuri verdict warning to EC staff on strongrooms

HYDERABAD: The Telangana high court verdict in the legal battle over Dharmapuri assembly election of 2018 has sounded a warning for all state officials acting as election officials on the consequences they would face for any laxity in securing strongrooms storing EVMs and VVPATs.
While dismissing Congress candidate A Lakshman Kumar's plea challenging the 2018 election of Koppula Eshwar from Dharmapuri over alleged irregularities in counting, the high court on December 1, however, directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take action against election officials responsible for negligence in securing the strongroom.
An inquiry by an ECI team had revealed irregularities by election officials in respect of strongroom safety. Justice K Lakshman ordered action against officials after the ECI report listed lapses in safe-keeping of election materials such as EVMs and VVPATs, double sealing of strongroom after election, and also non-counting of two missing votes.
Though Lakshman Kumar lost both the 2018 election as well as his legal battle because he could not produce sufficient technical and oral evidence, the case brought to fore the lapses in maintaining strongrooms after voting.
"This will serve as an eye-opener for officials who now know that failure to ensure safety of strongrooms can result in penal action," said Dharmesh Jaiswal, counsel for Lakshman Kumar.
But in a twist of fate, Lakshman, who had lost the 2018 assembly battle to Eshwar by a wafer-thin margin of 441 votes, exacted sweet revenge in the just-concluded polls - he won the Dharmapuri seat with a huge margin of 22,039 votes against BRS candidate Eshwar.
Hyderabad: The Telangana high court verdict in the legal battle over Dharmapuri assembly election of 2018 has sounded a warning for all state officials acting as election officials on the consequences they would face for any laxity in securing strongrooms storing EVMs and VVPATs.
While dismissing Congress candidate A Lakshman Kumar's plea challenging the 2018 election of Koppula Eshwar from Dharmapuri over alleged irregularities in counting, the high court on December 1, however, directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take action against election officials responsible for negligence in securing the strongroom.
An inquiry by an ECI team had revealed irregularities by election officials in respect of strongroom safety. Justice K Lakshman ordered action against officials after the ECI report listed lapses in safe-keeping of election materials such as EVMs and VVPATs, double sealing of strongroom after election, and also non-counting of two missing votes.
Though Lakshman Kumar lost both the 2018 election as well as his legal battle because he could not produce sufficient technical and oral evidence, the case brought to fore the lapses in maintaining strongrooms after voting.
"This will serve as an eye-opener for officials who now know that failure to ensure safety of strongrooms can result in penal action," said Dharmesh Jaiswal, counsel for Lakshman Kumar.
But in a twist of fate, Lakshman, who had lost the 2018 assembly battle to Eshwar by a wafer-thin margin of 441 votes, exacted sweet revenge in the just-concluded polls - he won the Dharmapuri seat with a huge margin of 22,039 votes against BRS candidate Eshwar.