The top court said that it was obvious that the Returning Officer “defaced” the ballot papers.
Supreme Court On Chandigarh Mayor Elections: The Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on the civic poll officer under whose supervision the Chandigarh Mayor elections were held. The top court said that it was obvious that the Returning Officer “defaced” the ballot papers.
“Is this the way he conducts the elections? This is a mockery of democracy. This is a murder of democracy. We are appalled. This man should be prosecuted. Is this the behaviour of the Returning Officer?” said Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud.
The Supreme Court further ordered the preservation of an entire record of the election process including ballot papers, videography, and other material through the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court as it further directed that the ensuing meeting of the Chandigarh Corporation shall be deferred till the next date of hearing.
AAP and Congress party’s joint candidate Kuldeep Kumar had accused Presiding Officer Anil Masih of resorting to fraud as he lost the Chandigarh mayoral election following which he approached the Supreme Court against the High Court’s refusal to grant an immediate stay on the election result in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Manoj Sonkar was declared the Mayor of Chandigarh on January 30 after he won the mayoral polls with 16 votes against the 12 votes bagged by Congress-AAP candidate while eight votes were declared invalid.
Eight votes, which were declared invalid in the Chandigarh Mayoral polls, have led opposition leaders to raise allegations of rigging with Congress and AAP, attacking the BJP-led central government over the issue.
Soon after the declaration of the results accusations flew against the presiding officer, Anil Masih, for allegedly making tick marks on polled votes. It led to the cancellation of eight ballots.
AAP leader Raghav Chadda demanded action against the Presiding officer while Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter and said the Chandigarh Mayoral Polls Result is a matter of concern and worrisome.
(With ANI inputs)