In a landmark ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court pronounced Kuldeep Kumar, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate, as the rightful winner of last month’s Chandigarh mayoral election. The decision comes after a contentious victory by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sparked allegations of ballot tampering.
The apex court scrutinized eight disputed ballot papers and reviewed video evidence of the counting process earlier in the day. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, leading the bench, rebuked the returning officer, Anil Masih, for what was deemed as “contempt of court” and ordered the invalidated ballots to be treated as valid. Consequently, the court declared the results announced by Masih as null and void.
“It is evident that the presiding officer is guilty of this serious misdemeanour. It is evident that the presiding officer has deliberately defaced the ballot,” remarked the court, signaling its strong stance against electoral malpractice.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court directed contempt of court proceedings against Anil Masih, issuing a show-cause notice for his actions. Masih is obliged to respond within three weeks in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The January 30 Chandigarh mayoral polls saw the BJP emerge victorious over the AAP-Congress alliance after Masih invalidated eight votes cast for the coalition. The alliance promptly alleged ballot tampering by the presiding officer, a claim vehemently denied by the BJP.
Seeking redress, the Congress-AAP alliance approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, demanding the annulment of the results and a rerun of the mayoral elections. The Supreme Court intervened, criticizing the presiding officer’s conduct during the polls.
The matter, initially brought before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, escalated to the Supreme Court after an AAP councillor’s plea challenged the former’s decision to deny interim relief for fresh mayoral polls in Chandigarh.
Earlier on Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the presentation of the ballots submitted before the Punjab and Haryana High Court to be brought forth on Tuesday, February 20.
