File photo of YSR Congress Party MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy.
Credit: X/@PrkYsrcp
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday prohibited YSR Congress MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy from entering the counting area on June 4, while terming the incident of damaging EVM allegedly by him and supporters as "sheer mockery of the system."
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Sandeep Mehta wondered how the high court granted interim protection in such matters as a video had gone viral purportedly showing the MLA smashing the EVM machine in the polling booth in Macherla.
The court was hearing a plea by TDP activist from Macherla, Namburi Seshagiri Rao, against YSR Congress MLA.
Rao, also the counting agent of the TDP, led by a counsel, claimed that the MLA had destroyed the EVM in Macherla on the day of polling.
He asked the bench to examine the video of the incident.
“What fun is being made. This is the mockery of the system, sheer mockery! How many people can enter the polling booth,” the bench asked, after watching the video of the incident.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh, for the MLA submitted that the high court granted anticipatory bail to Reddy till June 5, let it examine the matter on June 6.
Singh said that he was ready to give an undertaking that he would not go near the counting station. He asked the bench to allow the high court to continue hearing the matter.
During the hearing, the bench wondered how the interim protection was given by the high court in such a case.
"Let this be an example. We will tell the high court to decide it on merits without being influenced by its earlier order,” the bench said.
The bench noted it was not only about the video but there are pictures of the EVM being damaged on the Election Commission’s website and “it was a live web telecast”.
“We can ignore the video and photographs. The complainant says both EVM and VVPAT were taken away and destroyed, eight people stormed inside the polling booth," the bench asked Singh, who maintained the identity of the persons storming the polling booth was yet to be ascertained.
Singh said his client was not named in the first FIR and his name included in the FIR ten days later.
"The videos, regarding the incident, brought on record are not official," he claimed.
The bench told Singh that his client can give an undertaking that he will not be seen in the vicinity of the counting area.
“Mr Singh, this video is not a doctored video,” the bench said.
The court finally accepted his submissions that he will not enter the counting area and station concerned at Macherla assembly constituency. It said the submission will suffice at this stage. It directed the high court to decide on extension of bail plea on June 6 independent of earlier grant of interim protection.
A video showing MLA Ramakrishna Reddy smashing the EVM at a polling booth went viral on May 13. The incident occurred on May 13 during the simultaneous polling for elections to the assembly and Lok Sabha in Andhra Pradesh.
The MLA had moved the high court for anticipatory bail. The high court restrained the police from taking any coercive action against the MLA till June 5 and posted the matter for further hearing to June 6.