Supreme Court of India Mayor
Supreme Court of India Mayor through the hearing, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud noted that all eight ballots, which were explode by Returning Officer Anil Masih, had received the stamp for Kuldeep Kumar, the Aam Aadmi Party’s candidate. In a big win for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the results of the Chandigarh mayoral elections in which the Returning Officer invalidated eight ballot votes resulting in the BJP candidate’s win.With the Supreme Court’s order, AAP mayoral candidate Kuldeep Kumar, who was also the petitioner in the case, has been declared winner of the election.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud noted that the eight ballots which were invalidated by Returning Officer Anil Masih were valid & they were cast in favour of AAP’s mayoral candidate Kuldeep Kumar. The bench noted that Anil Masih made a deliberate attempt to deface eight ballots cast in favour of the requester. “In this court yesterday, the officer made a statement that he had done so because he found the ballots were vandalize. As a matter of fact, it is recorded that none of the ballots were defaced,” the bench noted.
“The conduct of a Presiding Officer has to depcrated at two levels. Firstly by his conduct, he has illegal altered the course of the mayor election. Secondly, in making a statement before this court, the officer expressed a copyright falsehood for which he must be held accountable,” the bench said. The bench further said it was the duty of the court to conserve the democratic principles. A notice has also been issued against Returning Officer Anil Masih to face contempt of court. On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the production of the ballot papers & video of the counting of votes in Chandigarh mayoral polls.
The BJP swept the January 30 Chandigarh mayoral polls, retaining all three posts, & defeating the Congress-AAP alliance. The AAP then moved the Supreme Court demanding fresh polls, accusing Returning Officer Anil Masih of “fraud and forgery” in the election process. A video also went viral showing Anil Masih ticking the ballot papers while look quickly at the CCTV, raising concerns about the fairness of the elections. through the hearing on Monday, the Supreme Court called out “horse-trading business” in the mayoral polls and noted the Masih should be prosecuted if found guilty of accusations levelled against him.
