Chandigarh Mayor Elections
Chandigarh Mayor Elections: The Supreme Court questioned Anil Masih, the Presiding Officer, over his actions during the contentious Chandigarh Mayoral elections, asking him multiple questions.
The Presiding Officer, Anil Masih, was questioned by the Supreme Court on Monday over his actions during the contentious Chandigarh Mayoral elections. Following his reply, the CJI said that Masih need to face legal action for his marking of the ballot papers.
During the directing order, the court instructed Masih to return to court tomorrow and stated that they would be reviewing the ballot papers.
Chandigarh Mayor Elections: In response to a judicial question, Mr. Masih acknowledged that he marked eight ballot papers with a “X.” Masih stated that in order to prevent confusion, he was marking ballots that the voters had vandalized separately.
“Mr Masih. I am asking you questions, if you answer incorrectly, you will be prosecuted,” the CJI warned Masih.
“Why were you looking into the CCTV?” CJI asked.
“Sir, they were making making noise on the floor but the camera was on me….” Masih answered.
CJI: The video makes it rather clear that you were marking X marks on specific ballots. Have you annotated some ballot papers with X marks?
Chandigarh Mayor Elections: Masih: On eight papers, yes. The ballot papers were stolen and destroyed by AAP members.
“Why were you only damaging certain ballots? Who bestowed upon you your abilities?” Querying Anil Masih, CJI
Masih: I highlighted papers that had been vandalized.
CJI: Legal action against him is necessary. He acknowledged.
The CJI ruled that the results should be announced without taking into account the returing officer’s marking on the ballots. The top court ordered that the High Court oversee the procedure judicially.
Chandigarh Mayor Elections: The AAP candidate’s petition was heard by the bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra earlier on February 5. The bench chastised Masih for his actions as the chief electoral officer and ordered him to personally explain his actions to the top court during the next hearing.
What happened in the mayoral elections was dubbed the “murder of democracy” by the CJI.
“He obviously tampered with the voting papers. Does he run the elections this way? This is democracy made fun of. Democracy is being murdered by this. A prosecution for this man is warranted! Inform him that the Supreme Court is keeping a close eye on him,” CJI Chandrachud added as she gave directions.
The court had expressed dismay over the election-related films that came to light and questioned Masih about why he was staring at the CCTV camera while he counted ballots.
Masih is accused by the AAP and Congress of manipulating votes in favour of Manoj Sonkar, the BJP candidate.
Chandigarh Mayor Elections: Kuldeep Kumar, the INDIA bloc candidate, claims that Masih acknowledged eight ballots as erroneous during the vote-counting process and that the BJP won the race through electoral fraud.
On January 30, Manoj Sonkar, the BJP’s nominee for mayor, was proclaimed the winner with 16 votes to Kumar’s 12 votes from the Congress-AAP.
On February 18, the BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar resigned from the Mayor’s office, one day prior to the next Supreme Court hearing. Before the hearing, three AAP council members from Chandigarh—Guruncharan Kala, Punam Devi, and Neha Musawat—joined the BJP, which was another significant step.