SFI's victory in Kerala Varma College election invalid: High Court orders recounting

Kochi: In a setback to SFI, the Kerala High Court on Tuesday held that its victory at the Kerala Varma College was invalid. The court has ordered a recount of the votes.

The Kerala High Court had earlier asked how the invalid votes in Kerala Varma College elections increased and NOTA votes decreased during recounting.

Justice TR Ravi had also questioned the rationale of constituting a core committee when the returning officer could have made a decision on recounting. The court also asked why the Principal of the college signed the document when the list of core committee members did not include him.

The court was considering a plea filed by KSU's chairperson candidate S Sreekuttan.

On November 1, Sreekuttan, a visually-impaired final-year political science student, had emerged victorious in Kerala Varma College elections by a single ballot securing 896 votes. However, the rival SFI demanded a recount. In the recount, SFI candidate Anirudhan won by 11 votes on November 2. KSU activists alleged that the SFI victory was part of an orchestrated attempt to overturn the votes in its favour.