The Supreme Court rebuked Anil Masih, the Chandigarh Mayor electionโs Presiding Officer, accusing him of defacing ballot papers. Chief Justice DY Chandrachudโs bench heard AAP councillor Kuldeep Kumarโs plea against a Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling. The AAP sought fresh elections supervised by a retired judge but was denied interim relief.
During the hearing, CJI Chandrachud condemned Masihโs actions, stating he should face prosecution. He criticized Masihโs conduct as a mockery of democracy and called it โmurdering democracy.โ Chandrachud observed Masihโs selective tampering with ballot papers and warned him that the Supreme Court was monitoring the situation closely.
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In the recent Chandigarh mayoral polls, BJPโs Manoj Sonkar defeated AAPโs Kuldeep Kumar with 16 votes to 12, while eight were invalidated. Opposition councillors accused the presiding officer of ballot tampering, a claim dismissed by the BJP.
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