CJI DY Chandrachud said that the court is "appalled" to see the behaviour of the Presiding Officer.
The Supreme Court today strongly criticised the Presiding Officer responsible for conducting the recent Chandigarh Mayor elections, asserting that he had “defaced the ballot papers” and deeming the situation a “mockery of democracy” and “murder of democracy.” Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud expressed his dismay after viewing a video of the contentious election, where a BJP candidate was declared the winner, with the votes of eight Congress-AAP alliance councillors being declared invalid.
Arvind Kejriwal”s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which lost the Mayoral election, accused the Presiding Officer of election rigging and called for his arrest over alleged “tampering” with ballot papers. The invalidated votes, which swayed the election in favor of the BJP, have fueled the allegations.
CJI Chandrachud condemned the behavior of the Presiding Officer, stating, “Why is he looking at the camera and running like a fugitive?” He expressed concern over the defacement of ballot papers, stressing that the Supreme Court would not allow democracy to be undermined. The court deemed the purity of the election process as a stabilizing force in the country.
The bench, including Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, heard a petition filed by AAP Councillor Kuldeep Kumar, the defeated Mayor candidate, challenging the refusal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to stay the election results. The Court, issuing a notice, deferred the ensuing meeting of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation scheduled for February 7. Furthermore, the bench imposed a freeze on the budget session of the Chandigarh civic body, originally slated for Tuesday, until further orders. The top court will hear the case on February 12.
Amid mega protests by AAP in Delhi and Chandigarh, in its petition the Arvind Kejriwal-led party alleged that the elections were not conducted fairly, alleging tampering with ballot papers and biased results in favor of the BJP. The party demanded the annulment of the election, sealing of records, a ban on the elected mayor assuming office, an investigation into the rigging, and a fresh election under the supervision of a retired High Court judge.
The BJP emerged victorious dealing a setback to the AAP-Congress alliance, which had considered the election as a crucial test for the I.N.D.I.A bloc. BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar secured 16 votes, defeating AAP”s Kuldeep Kumar with 12 votes, while eight votes were declared invalid. The BJP holds 14 councillors in the 35-member corporation, AAP has 13, and the Congress has seven.
