Chandigarh mayoral polls: SC raps Returning Officer; seeks ballot papers, counting day video for review

NEW DELHI,FEB 19 : The Supreme Court, noting that “horse-trading is taking place,” will review Chandigarh mayoral ballot papers and counting day videos on Tuesday. The top court also pulled up Anil Masih, Returning Officer for the mayoral polls, asking him why he put ‘X’ marks on ballot papers.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra directed the Chandigarh administration on Monday to provide security to the judicial officer, to be appointed by the high court, to ensure the safety of the officer and the records.

The court instructed Punjab and Haryana High Court’s registrar general to assign a judicial officer to safely transport the records to Delhi. “We ourselves will look at the records at 2 pm,” the bench said.

“Horse-trading is taking place,” the CJI said while declining a plea that the case on the mayoral polls be heard on some other day instead of Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Masih appeared before the bench in pursuance of the apex court’s direction and was quizzed by the judges over the alleged tampering of certain ballot papers.

Replying to the judges’ questions, Masih said he did put the “X” mark on eight already “defaced” ballot papers and accused Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors of creating a ruckus and trying to snatch away the ballot papers. He said that due to this, he was looking at the CCTV camera at the counting centre.

On February 5, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the Returning Officer who held the Chandigarh Mayor elections, saying he was “murdering democracy” and ordered the preservation of the entire record of the election process, including ballot papers, videography, and other material, through the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The top court had earlier rapped Returning Officer Anil Masih, observing that it was obvious that he had defaced the ballot papers and that he should be prosecuted, adding that his action amounted to “murder” and a “mockery” of democracy.

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“It is obvious that he has defaced the ballot papers. He needs to be prosecuted. Why is he looking at the camera? This is a mockery of democracy. This is the murder of democracy. We are appalled. We will not allow democracy to be murdered this way. Is this the behaviour of a returning officer? Wherever there is a cross at the bottom, he does not touch it but when it is at the top, he alters it. Please tell the returning officer that the Supreme Court is watching him,” the three-judge bench of the top court, headed by CJI Chandrachud, had remarked on February 5.

The observations of the apex court came after it watched video of the controversial election.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept the Chandigarh mayoral polls against the Congress-AAP alliance on January 30.

BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar was announced as the winner of the Chandigarh Mayoral election after securing 16 votes in the 35-member municipal corporation House, while Kuldeep Kumar, the INDIA bloc candidate of Congress and AAP, received 12 votes.

Eight votes were declared “invalid” by Anil Masih, the presiding officer.

Kuldeep Kumar, had moved the top court to challenge a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that has refused to grant any interim relief to the party, which is seeking fresh mayoral polls in Chandigarh. The AAP had alleged tampering with ballot papers and sought fresh polls under the supervision of a retired judge of the court.

Earlier on Sunday, Sonkar resigned from the post of Chandigarh Mayor, a day before the Supreme Court’s hearing on allegations of irregularities in the vote-counting process.

-The New Indian Express