The Supreme Court of India criticised the Returning Officer responsible for overseeing the controversial Chandigarh Mayor elections, stating that the officer defaced the ballot papers. Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, leading a Supreme Court bench on Monday, February 5, directed that the entire record of the recently held Chandigarh mayoral elections be sequestered under the custody of the Punjab & Haryana High Court Registrar General.
"Is this the way he conducts the elections? This is a mockery of democracy. This is the murder of democracy. This man should be prosecuted," remarked Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud after viewing the video of the controversial election, where a BJP candidate was declared the winner after the votes of 8 candidates of the Congress-AAP alliance were declared invalid.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, heard a petition filed by AAP Councillor Kuldeep Kumar (the defeated Mayor candidate) challenging the refusal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to stay the immediate election.
The Supreme Court ordered the preservation of the entire record of the election process, including ballot papers, videography, and other material, through the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Additionally, the Supreme Court directed that the ensuing meeting of the Chandigarh Corporation shall be deferred until the next date of hearing.