The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Kuldeep Kumar of the Aam Aadmi Party as the rightful winner of the Chandigarh mayoral election held last month. Returning Officer Anil Masih has been issued a “show cause” notice by the top court.
The SC cancelled the earlier result that saw the BJP”s Manoj Sonkar elected mayor. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hailed the verdict. “Thank you SC for saving democracy in these difficult times!” the AAP chief wrote on X.
The verdict signifies a significant milestone for the AAP and the Congress, who joined forces as allies, marking the inaugural victory for the INDIA bloc in its endeavor to counter the BJP”s influence. This victory will serve as a much-needed boost, especially at a time when the coalition faces the threat of disintegration less than a year since its inception. Internal discord over issues such as seat-sharing and electoral preparations has strained relations among its members.
Earlier in the day, the top court had ordered the recounting of votes in the Chandigarh mayoral election. It ruled that eight ballots, initially invalidated by the Returning Officer, were indeed valid. Notably, these eight votes were in favour of AAP”s mayoral candidate, Kuldeep Kumar, as observed by the court.
A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud scrutinised the eight ballot papers during the proceedings and criticised Anil Masih, who was recently removed from BJP”s Minority Cell. The BJP had claimed an unexpected victory margin of four votes after the exclusion of these eight ballots.
Chief Justice Chandrachud highlighted that all eight invalidated ballots, handled by Returning Officer Anil Masih, bore stamps in favour of Kuldeep Kumar, the Aam Aadmi Party”s candidate. “The votes are cast for Kuldeep Kumar. What he (Returning Officer) does is, he puts a single line. Just one line, as seen in the video,” remarked CJI Chandrachud.
During the hearing on Monday, the Supreme Court directed the submission of ballot papers and video footage of the vote counting process in the Chandigarh mayoral polls.
The BJP emerged victorious in the January 30 Chandigarh mayoral polls, securing all three positions and defeating the Congress-AAP alliance. Subsequently, AAP approached the Supreme Court, seeking fresh elections, citing allegations of “fraud and forgery” against Returning Officer Anil Masih.
A circulated video depicted Anil Masih marking the ballot papers while seemingly monitoring the CCTV, raising concerns about the fairness of the electoral process.
During Monday”s hearing, the Supreme Court condemned the apparent “horse-trading business” in the mayoral polls and said that Masih should be prosecuted.
