Karnataka: HC extends stay on FIR against MLA, election officials till June 3

Bengaluru: The High Court on Thursday extended its interim stay on the FIR against BJP MLA DN Jeevaraj and IAS officer KN Ramesh and senior official Vedamurthy in the Sringeri vote recount case till June 3. Both Ramesh and Vedamurthy handled the election duty during the May 2023 assembly polls in Karnataka.

The Chikkamagaluru town police have registered an FIR on the MLA and two officials accusing them of the electoral malpractice on a complaint from Sudhir Kumar Murolli, the poll agent for Congress candidate TD Raje Gowda.

When the case came up before Justice Srishananda on Thursday, Murolli sought time to file the statement of objections. The court extended the interim stay, granting relief to the election officials as well.


The returning officer Vedamurthy, three years ago, declared Congress candidate TD Raje Gowda as the winner. However, on a recount of postal ballots, last week, following the high court order, the election authorities declared Jeevaraj as the winner.

The Congress has disputed the revised result and vowed to challenge it before the election commission and courts of law. Jeevaraj, meanwhile, took oath as Sringeri MLA on Wednesday.