Supreme Court Restrains Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy From Entering Counting Station:- Responding to allegations about the destruction of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) at a polling station in Andhra Pradesh, the Supreme Court has taken action. The court has prohibited Macherla MLA Pinnelli Ramakrishna Reddy (from the YSRCP party) from entering the counting station or its surrounding area on June 4th, 2024, when the vote counting will occur. This decision was made by a vacation bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Sandeep Mehta, who were considering two petitions filed by TDP polling agent Namburi Seshagiri Rao. Rao alleged that Reddy and his associates had entered a polling booth in Macherla and damaged the EVMs. The petitioner expressed concerns that a similar incident could happen again on the day of the vote count. After hearing the arguments from both sides, the court accepted the assurance given by Shri Vikas Singh, the senior counsel representing the respondent (Reddy), that the respondent would not enter the counting station or its vicinity on June 4th, 2024. The court believed this undertaking was sufficient to address the petitioner's apprehensions.

The case was brought before the esteemed High Court for consideration. During the proceedings, the petitioner's legal representative directed the court's attention to certain photographs, which were reportedly obtained from the Election Commission of India's web broadcast. Additionally, a video was presented for the court's review. The petitioner's counsel argued that the accused (Reddy) was undermining the system, as a sitting Member of the Legislative Assembly had gone to the polling station, destroyed the equipment, and a complaint was filed alleging that unknown individuals had committed the offense. The counsel further stated that the accused was absconding until the High Court issued an order. On the other hand, the senior advocate representing Reddy expressed doubts about the validity of the video presented in court, suggesting that it could not be definitively ascertained who was present in the footage. However, the bench provided the device containing the video to the senior advocate, and noted that there were also photographs available. Justice Kumar observed that the video had been widely circulated on social media. Nevertheless, the senior advocate maintained that the video was not officially broadcast by the Election Commission of India, and the photographs were not official.

In response, Justice Kumar stated that even if the photographs were to be disregarded, the very fact that the complainant had reported that both the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and the Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) were removed and destroyed after 8 people had stormed into the polling booth was significant. The person inquired, "My query is who barged in."

"The allegations in the complaint must be accepted on their face." Referring to doubts about the video made by the petitioner, Justice Mehta opined, "This video has not been viewed on Facebook." After hearing the parties, the court recorded the affidavits of Singh and Reddy barring them from entering the counting station of Macherla constituency. He also asked the Supreme Court to decide on the pending petition, which will be registered on June 6, 2024, granting interim relief to Reddy and not affecting its earlier order. The court strongly objected to the Supreme Court's grant of interim protection to Reddy, calling it a "mockery of the system". The bench was initially inclined to uphold the Supreme Court's order when Justice Mehta said, "Let this be an example." Singh, however, told the court that no appeals were filed in other cases involving Reddy and that Reddy had given an undertaking not to enter the counting station. on the day of the count. The interim protection granted to Reddy by the Supreme Court will expire on June 5.