Pune: Supreme Court Orders Recount of Actual Votes in Hadapsar Assembly Constituency
Pune, 21st July 2025: The Supreme Court of India has ordered a recount of actual votes in the Hadapsar Assembly constituency, clearing the path for a full review of the election results amid allegations of vote counting irregularities during the Maharashtra Assembly elections held in November 2024.
The ruling comes after Prashant Jagtap, the candidate from the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar faction), contested the Election Commission’s earlier directive that permitted a recount using mock poll data instead of the original votes. Jagtap had alleged serious discrepancies in the counting process and moved the Supreme Court, seeking a fair and transparent recount based on genuine voter input.
The Election Commission had initially agreed to recount 27 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units but instructed officials to erase the actual polling data and conduct the process using trial data. Jagtap, along with others, challenged this approach in the apex court, arguing that it undermined the democratic process.
In a significant decision, the Supreme Court quashed the previous instructions and allowed the recount to be conducted using the actual votes cast during the election. The recount is scheduled to begin at the Bhosari godown from July 25 and will continue until August 2, 2025.
Reacting to the court’s verdict, Prashant Jagtap said, “This is a major step toward electoral justice. The truth about what happened in Hadapsar will now be revealed.”
The Supreme Court’s order is expected to have a broader impact on how electoral disputes are addressed, especially concerning transparency in vote counting and the role of mock poll data in recounts.
