The Supreme Court ruled on Monday (February 19) that the results of the heated Chandigarh mayoral election on January 30 will be declared using the existing ballot papers rather than a recount.
The Supreme Court ordered the officials to show the full video recording of the counting day during the next hearing on Tuesday, expressing concern over the Chandigarh Mayor polls.
The election results had been clouded by allegations of misconduct by BJP councillors and presiding officer Anil Masih. Manoj Sonkar, the newly elected BJP mayor, resigned on Sunday after the case was heard by the Supreme Court and it issued adverse findings.
According to a report by Livemint, While hearing the case, the Supreme Court refused to hold new elections and proposed declaring the results after recounting the votes cast during the contentious Chandigarh mayoral polls.
“We are deeply concerned about the horse-trading which is taking place," said CJI DY Chandrachud while coming down heavily on Returning Officer (RO) Anil Masih, who conducted the mayoral polls.“This whole business of horse trading which is going on is very disturbing. Let the entire video of counting of the votes be also produced tomorrow noon," he added, as quoted in the report
The Supreme Court also declared that the returning officer's defacing of the ballot papers amounts to "murder" and a "mockery" of democracy. The Supreme Court also ruled that he should be prosecuted for the same.
Masih said he did place the "X" mark on eight already "defaced" ballot papers in response to the judges' questions and remarks. He also accused Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) council members of stirring up trouble and trying to snatch away the ballot papers.
However, this time, the vote will be counted regardless of what Anil Masih's marks are on them. The second round of vote counting will occur once a new returning officer, unaffiliated with any political party, is appointed. Furthermore, the registrar general of HC will supervise the process, said CJI Chandrachud on Monday.
“We will call for the ballot papers here, we will ask the HC reg general to depute a person and submit all the records before us tomorrow. We will list this tomorrow and see the ballot papers and decide what to do," Bar and Bench quoted CJI Chandrachud.
In the Bottom line, the Congress had seven councillors in the Municipal Corporation, while AAP had 13. This added up to 20 and gave the Congress a clear advantage in the 35-member House. The BJP secured a total of 15 votes, courtesy of its 14 councillors and the additional vote from the Chandigarh MP, who holds an ex officio position in the House. Kirron Kher, a member of the BJP, serves as the Chandigarh MP. It is worth noting that the Chandigarh Mayor is chosen every year from the elected councillors. Three AAP councillors joined the BJP on January 30, increasing the party's vote to 17 and potentially giving the BJP an advantage if a fresh poll was ordered.
(Inputs from agencies)
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