The Karnataka High Court has ordered the Returning Officer to re-verify 279 rejected postal ballots from the elections held for the Sringeri Assembly constituency in April-May 2023. Justice R. Nataraj issued this directive while partially granting a petition from D.N. Jeevaraja, the defeated candidate from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Jeevaraja contested the election results, which saw Congress candidate T.D. Raje Gowda win by a narrow margin of 201 votes. The court indicated that the RO must recount the postal ballots based on the re-verification results. However, the implementation of this order has been put on hold for two weeks to allow Gowda to appeal to the Supreme Court against the ruling. Jeevaraja's petition cites alleged malpractices and violations of the Representation Of People Act, 1951, seeking either the annulment of Gowda's election or a lawful recount of the votes.