In a major relief to IT minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah, the High Court on Wednesday upheld his election from Jangaon Assembly constituency in 2009. Justice R Kantha Rao, in his judgment, said the petitioner had failed to substantiate the alleged irregularities in counting of votes.
Petitioner Kommuri Pratap Reddy, who lost the 2009 election from Jangaon segment, filed the petition seeking to declare Ponnala’s election as illegal and urged the court to order recounting and scrutiny of all the ballots. He lost the election by a margin of 236 votes. He alleged that Ponnala had indulged in unfair election practices.
The judge, while dismissing the petition, said the allegations cannot be accepted at their face value in the absence of prima facie proof.
He also said that it would be improper to allow recounting on the basis of mere allegations.