In Brief
A panchayat mukhia election dispute where the elected candidate won by 154 votes, but the losing candidate alleged serious irregularities during vote counting, including light-inked valid votes being rejected for him while invalid votes for the opponent were accepted. The Election Tribunal, after examining witnesses, found prima facie case for recount and ordered it. The High Court Division Bench set this aside without analysing the evidence. The Supreme Court reversed the High Court, holding the Tribunal properly established all conditions for recount. The actual recount showed the losing candidate had 95 more valid votes than the returned candidate. The Court set aside the election and declared the appellant elected under Section 140 of the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 2006.</summary_100> </invoke>
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