In a significant development, the Supreme Court has ruled that Andhra Pradesh’s Macherla MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy, accused of damaging an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) during the elections on May 13, will not be allowed to enter the vote counting station on June 4. The court’s decision comes after Reddy promised Justices Aravind Kumar and Sandeep Mehta that he would stay away from the counting station.
Reddy, a member of the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), was reportedly caught on video damaging an EVM at a polling center in the Macharla constituency of Palnadu district. The Supreme Court, upon viewing the video evidence, criticized the temporary protection granted to Reddy, labeling it a “mockery of the justice system.”
The court also questioned the decision to grant interim bail to Reddy, calling it highly mistaken. The Supreme Court’s ruling came in response to a plea challenging the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s decision to provide interim relief to Reddy in the case.
The court instructed the High Court to adjudicate on the pending petition scheduled for June 6 based solely on its merits, without being influenced by previous remarks. The incident gained widespread attention after a video surfaced on May 21, showing Reddy entering polling station No. 202 with his supporters, damaging the EVM, and causing harm to the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine. The video quickly went viral on social media platforms.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) took serious note of the incident and sought an explanation from the state’s chief electoral officer M K Meena. The EC also requested a report from the Director-General of Police (DGP) regarding the actions taken against Reddy and others involved in similar incidents of damaging EVMs.
Notably, the Andhra Pradesh High Court had previously granted anticipatory bail to Reddy in the case. The incident on May 13 saw EVMs being damaged at seven polling stations in the Macherla constituency, highlighting concerns about election-related violence in various districts of the southern state, including Palnadu, Tirupati, and Anantapur.
Sources By Agencies
