The Supreme Court yesterday gave the green signal for todays election of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress president. The Karnataka High Court had earlier stayed the process. The apex court, however, ordered that the counting of votes should not be undertaken nor the results declared. It will hear the appeal of a party activist on Monday.
A vacation bench comprising Justice S C Sen and Justice S P Kurdurkar also issued notice to former Chief Minister S Bangarappa. The petitioner, S Chandrashekar, challenged a high court order staying the Shimoga district court order restraining the pradesh returning officer Shubhash Yadav from holding the elections for the post of state party chief. scheduled originally for June 10.
Chandrashekar has alleged that no election had been held for filling up primary committees and that everything had been manipulated by the returning officers in connivance with Bangarappa.
The court however directed that the counting of votes and the declaration of results should not take place till the disposal of a petition challenging the election process.
The lower court had also restrained defendents N B Narayanappa, R Prasannakumar and the present KPCC president Dharam Singh from exercising their franchise and functioning as PCC delegates.
