On Tuesday, the Supreme Court overturned the outcome of the Chandigarh mayoral election, where the BJP candidate had unexpectedly emerged victorious. The court declared Kuldeep Kumar, the defeated candidate from the AAP-Congress alliance, as the new mayor of the city.
In addition to overturning the result, the Supreme Court directed the prosecution of Anil Masih, the BJP leader who served as the returning officer for the poll. Masih faced charges of "misdemeanor" as the court identified serious flaws in the conduct of the January 30 election.
The apex court clarified that it was not annulling the entire electoral process but was specifically addressing the wrongdoings in the counting process that resulted in the invalidation of eight votes cast in favor of Kumar. Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, heading the bench, emphasized that Masih had deliberately attempted to deface eight ballot papers.
The BJP had initially won the mayoral election by defeating the AAP-Congress alliance candidate after the returning officer declared eight votes from the coalition partners as invalid.
This decision led to accusations of ballot tampering. Manoj Sonkar of the BJP secured victory with 16 votes against his rival's 12, namely Kuldeep Kumar. However, Sonkar resigned subsequently, and three AAP councillors defected to the BJP.
The Supreme Court's intervention marks a significant development in addressing the irregularities in the electoral process.
More details are awaited.
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