News Brief
Supreme Court Sets Aside Chandigarh Mayor Election Result, Declares AAP-Congress Candidate Winner: Here's All About It
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal
In a significant development, the Supreme Court has declared Kuldeep Kumar, the candidate of the AAP-Congress combine, as the winner of the Chandigarh Mayor polls, overturning the earlier victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) amidst allegations of ballot tampering.
The decision came after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had earlier emerged victorious in the polls, triggering allegations of tampering with the ballots by AAP.
The apex court criticised the returning officer, Anil Masih, and directed the invalidated ballots to be treated as valid.
The bench also emphasized the need for transparency and integrity in the electoral process, ordering the results to be declared based on the recounted ballots.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, hailed the Supreme Court's ruling as a triumph for democracy.
He said, "Thank you SC for saving democracy in these difficult times!"
The controversy arose after the returning officer Masih had invalidated eight votes from the AAP-Congress alliance candidate, sparking allegations of tampering with the ballots.
The Supreme Court expressed deep concern over the reported instances of "horse-trading" and opted to examine the ballots to ensure fairness in the electoral outcome.
In an earlier hearing on Monday ( 19 February), the Supreme Court had voiced its concerns over the integrity of the electoral process and directed the registrar general of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to ensure the safe transportation of the ballot papers to New Delhi for scrutiny.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta proposed holding a fresh election under judicial supervision to address the allegations effectively.
However, the bench opted to proceed with a recount of the ballots.
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