Ranchi, Aug. 2: The Supreme Court today stayed the Jharkhand High Court directive for a recount of votes polled in the 2009 Hatia Assembly constituency, now a centrepoint of political ambitions.
State chief electoral officer P.K. Jajoria had fixed August 29 as the date of recounting in pursuance of the high court directive which has been challenged by Bhim Munda, who had contested the Hatia Assembly election as an Independent candidate.
Munda challenged the high court order on the ground that the Election Commission was not made a party to the case filed by BJP nominee Ramji Lal Sarda.
A bench of justices J.M. Panchal, Deepak Verma and B.S. Chauhan, while hearing the petition, issued notices to the returning officer, Ranchi sub-divisional officer Shekhar Jamuar, and all those who contested the poll.
Today’s apex court order came after Bhim Munda’s counsel Uday Gupta made a special mention before the bench. He argued that the high court passed the order without following procedures set under the People’s Representation Act.
“An election petition happens to be a civil suit, so it should have been decided on the basis of evidence and summoning the returning officer as a witness as set under People’s Representation Act,” he said.
The issue, he said, was decided by the high court on the basis of affidavits filed by Sarda and other candidates.
Sarda had challenged the election of Congress MLA Gopal Sharan Nath Shahdeo on the ground that he was declared winner after indulging in corrupt practices to influence the returning officer.
Shahdeo, who won by 25 votes after counting on December 23, 2009, died of a heart attack on June 28, 2010.
Sarda chose not to be disheartened by today’s order. “We will make our stand clear in the court on the next date. Justice may be delayed but we are confident it will not be denied,” he said.
JVM leader and RMC deputy mayor Ajay Nath Shahdeo, a family member of the Ratu estate to which Gopal Sharan Nath Shahdeo belonged, said that the late MLA should not have been dragged into litigation.
“Since he is no more, his victory should not have been questioned on the ground of corrupt practices,” said the JVM leader, who hopes to contest as a party candidate from Hatia in case by-election is held.
