In a stinging observation, the Supreme Court on Monday termed the Chandigarh mayoral election a “murder of democracy” and said the presiding officer should be prosecuted for defacing the ballot papers.
"Is this the way he conducts the elections? This is mockery of democracy. This is murder of democracy. This man should be prosecuted," Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said after watching a video of the election process, reported Live Law.
The court was hearing a petition filed by AAP councillor Kuldeep Kumar, the defeated candidate.
The BJP swept the polls, winning all the three posts including of mayor. The saffron party got 16 votes, while the AAP-Congress alliance bagged 12 votes despite having 20 councillors.
The AAP and the Congress alleged that the presiding officer had tampered with the ballot papers, a charge rubbished by the BJP.
The AAP moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court and sought fresh elections under the supervision of a retired judge but the court refused to grant any interim relief.
The CJI said the court is “appalled” to see the behaviour of the presiding officer. "Why is he looking at the camera and running like a fugitive?," Justice Chandrachud asked.
The top court bench comprising CJI Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra further directed the meeting of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation scheduled on February 7 shall stand deferred.
AAP, Congress hail court's observations
The AAP and the Congress on Monday hailed the Supreme Court expressing annoyance after watching a video of the electoral proceedings during the Chandigarh mayoral polls, saying it was a "tight slap" on the face of the BJP.
AAP leader Malvinder Singh Kang said the Supreme Court observed that what happened in the Chandigarh mayoral elections was a mockery of democracy.
"The entire nation witnessed the working style of the BJP on January 30. It not only disrespected the mandate of the people of Chandigarh but also hurt the faith of all citizens in our democracy," Kang said.
Senior Congress leader Pawan Bansal also hailed the top court's observations and said it was the victory of truth.
"When we made the allegations, the BJP was claiming to be clean. Now, where is the BJP's integrity? The BJP conspired to win the mayoral elections by undermining democratic values, which was first exposed in the people's court, and now in the court of law. The BJP should apologise for its actions to the entire country," Bansal said.
With PTI inputs
