Supreme Court did intervene and change the result of the Sarpanch election in Buana Lakhu village, Panipat, held back in 2022.
The election was held on November 2, 2022, and Kuldeep Singh was declared the winner. Mohit Kumar, the runner-up, challenged the result. The Panipat Tribunal ordered a recount of booth 69 on April 22, 2025, to be carried out on May 7—but this was later quashed by the Punjab & Haryana High Court on July 1, 2025.
Mohit then appealed to the Supreme Court. On July 31, 2025, a Bench (Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and N. K. Singh) ordered the production of all EVMs—not just booth 69—for a recount at the Court’s premises, under video surveillance.
The recount occurred on August 6, 2025, under the supervision of the Court’s Registrar, with representatives of both parties present and the process fully videographed. The revised tally: Mohit Kumar received 1,051 votes, while Kuldeep Singh got 1,000.
On August 11, 2025, the Supreme Court accepted the recount report as authentic and valid, and directed the Deputy Commissioner (Panipat) to issue a notification within two days declaring Mohit Kumar the duly elected Sarpanch, allowing him to assume office immediately.
