The petitioner, elected as the Sarpanch of Erlapudi Gram Panchayat of Khammam District, has invoked the jurisdiction of this Court seeking a writ of certiorari to quash the order of the Election Tribunal, in I.A. No.840 of 2013 in the Election O.P. No.16 of 2013 dated 25.02.2014, whereby recounting of votes was directed; and respondents 1, 4 to 6 were called upon to produce the election material before it for recounting in open Court on 15.03.2014 at 11.00 A.M.

Facts, to the extent necessary, are that elections to the post of Sarpanch of Erlapudi Gram Panchayat were held on 27.07.2013. In the first counting of votes, the petitioner got six votes more than the 6th respondent, with 82 votes treated as invalid. In the second round of counting both the petitioner and the 6th respondent were tied with an equal number of votes, and the invalid votes were held to have increased to 87 and, on a further recount, the petitioner was declared elected as the Sarpanch holding that he had secured two more votes than the 6th respondent. However the total number of invalid votes, in the third round of counting, increased to 99. Aggrieved thereby the 6th respondent filed Election O.P. No.16