Hours after the Supreme Court declared Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Councillor Kuldeep Kumar as the winner of the Chandigarh Mayoral polls, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal thanked the apex court for “saving democracy in difficult times.”
“Thank you, SC for saving democracy in these difficult times!” Kejriwal said in a post on social media.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra on Tuesday overturned the decision by Returning Officer Anil Masih, who had declared BJP candidate Manoj Kumar Sonkar as Chandigarh Mayor on January 30.
The Supreme Court found that the Returning Officer had intentionally defaced eight ballots cast in favor of Kuldeep Kumar to make them invalid. The court physically examined the ballot papers and determined that they were not defaced. It directed Kuldeep Kumar to be elected as the mayor with 20 votes (12 votes he received and eight defaced by Masih).
“The eight votes, which were treated as invalid by making those markings… counting the eight votes for the petitioner (AAP candidate Kumar) will make him have 20 votes. We direct that the election result by the Returning Officer is quashed. The petitioner is declared the winner of the Chandigarh mayoral polls,” the bench stated in its order.
The Supreme Court also directed the Registrar Judicial to issue notice to Anil Masih for perjury proceedings under Section 340 CrPC for making a false statement before the court that the mark was made on eight ballots as they were defaced. The court criticized Masih for unlawfully altering the course of the mayoral election.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court noted that eight ballots were cast in favor of the AAP Mayor candidate.
