The Supreme Court of India has taken decisive action in the controversy over the Chandigarh mayoral elections, focusing on allegations of tampering and misconduct by the returning officer, Anil Masih, who admitted to tampering, leading the SC to state he should be prosecuted. Amidst claims of rigged elections and political horse-trading, which the SC slammed, the court's scrutiny revealed that eight votes cast in favor of the AAP candidate were invalidated due to extra "marks". This came after the Supreme Court demanded the examination of ballot papers and the video recording of the counting process, and considered a "No Fresh Poll" proposal, highlighting serious concerns over the integrity of the electoral process. The case has attracted significant attention, with the Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, personally reviewing the invalidated ballots. This incident has sparked a broader debate on the neutrality and fairness of elections in the country, with AAP leaders accusing the BJP and the election officer of dishonest practices. The controversy has led to the resignation of Chandigarh Mayor Manoj Sonkar and has seen AAP alleging targeted raids and political poaching by rival parties. The judicial officer appointed by Punjab & Haryana HC, RG, produced the records including ballot papers in SC.
Chandigarh mayoral polls: SC scrutinises ballot papers, says eight votes cast in favour of AAP candidate had extra "marks"
Chandigarh mayoral polls row: We would like to see ballots which were invalidated, says SC
Chandigarh mayoral polls: Judicial officer appointed by Punjab & Haryana HC RG produces records including ballot papers in SC
Chandigarh mayoral polls: Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud asks the judicial officer to show the eight ballots which were invalidated. Judicial officer hands over the ballots to the Supreme Court bench for its perusal. https://t.co/LahD95SIvh
VIDEO | Here's what BJP leader and LoP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri (@RamvirBidhuri) said on AAP MLAs protest in the Delhi Assembly. "They (AAP) disrupted Assembly proceedings. The Speaker should have ousted AAP MLAs for at least this session," he said. (Full video available on PTI… https://t.co/YWxSKzQtgL
#WATCH | Delhi: On Chandigarh Mayoral polls, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai says, "Questions regarding the neutrality of elections are being raised in the country for some time now. The election officer committed malpractice in the Chandigarh Mayor elections, which was… https://t.co/wLTarxjL3a
#WATCH | On Chandigarh mayoral elections, AAP leader & Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj says, "BJP and the Presiding officer's dishonesty has been exposed. The SC has also said that it shows clearly on CCTV footage. Horse trading is affecting the democratic system in the country… https://t.co/F8c94Y2BZo
VIDEO | Here's what Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj on 7 BJP MLAs moving Delhi HC against their suspension from Assembly. "There's an old saying in English - tasting your own medicine. The BJP suspended 146 MPs, including Sanjay Singh and Raghav Chadha. Today, seven of their… https://t.co/UYFpkgHQRB
A day after coming down hard on presiding officer Anil Masih over allegations of tampering, the Supreme Court will today examine ballot papers of the Chandigarh mayoral election and video recording of the counting process https://t.co/NvulKtzWKt
Supreme Court seeks ballot papers of Chandigarh mayor election https://t.co/ZjPIcSSutA
STORY | Chandigarh mayoral polls: SC slams "horse-trading"; sends for ballot papers, video of counting for scrutiny on Tuesday READ: https://t.co/KUEC6fNtst https://t.co/X5Tesvy1mz
#TheNews | "Why Did You Put X Mark?" Supreme Court Pulls Up Chandigarh Poll Officer https://t.co/RlFQWVZcVR https://t.co/MtgJASanre
Chandigarh mayor polls: Returning officer Anil Masih admits to tampering, SC says he should be prosecuted https://t.co/YpvghQnCe2
Supreme Court's "No Fresh Poll" Proposal Amid Chandigarh Vote-Count Row https://t.co/kUKMLPZmPQ https://t.co/acf4HKH5bv
Chandigarh Poll Officer Must Be Prosecuted: Supreme Court In Vote-Count Row https://t.co/RlFQWVZcVR Sunil Prabhu and @ghazalimohammad report https://t.co/Xqt9elPDRA
Chandigarh Mayor poll | Supreme Court remarks that Anil Masih, returning officer in Chandigarh Mayor election, has to be prosecuted as he was interfering with the election process.
#WATCH | Delhi: On the resignation of Chandigarh Mayor Manoj Sonkar, Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj says, "In the Chandigarh Mayor elections, on one side there is a candidate of nation's smallest political party AAP and on the other side there is a candidate of… https://t.co/cEh83YmxyD
VIDEO | Here's what AAP leader Malvinder Singh Kang said about on party's three Chandigarh councillors joining BJP. "Earlier, their (BJP's) wrongdoings were caught on camera that was noticed by the Supreme Court. Now, they (BJP) are poaching AAP councillors overnight with… https://t.co/QEU05JszqY
As Chandigarh Mayor Resigns Amid Rigging Probe, Arvind Kejriwal's Remark https://t.co/vF76MvlDSR https://t.co/RuM2oyGO60
Watch | Returning Officer in #Chandigarh Mayor election #AnilMasih reached Supreme Court in pursuant to the apex court order which had asked him to appear before it https://t.co/WpRck86riL
Delhi BJP MLAs, who were suspended for the remainder of the Budget session of the Delhi Assembly moved Delhi High Court and challenged the decision of their suspension. The matter was mentioned before the Chief Justice of Delhi for urgent listing. Last week, Seven BJP MLAs were…
VIDEO | "All three of them - Neha, Poonam and Gurcharan Kala - said they were taken (to AAP) forcibly. Poonam and Neha were assured that they would get the post of mayor but that didn't happen. The AAP has been exposed once again," says BJP leader Vinod Tawde (@TawdeVinod) on… https://t.co/3gL9PHflVs
#WATCH | Chandigarh: On BJP's resignation from the Mayor post, party President of Chandigarh Jatinder Pal Malhotra says, "The mayor resigned yesterday afternoon. Aam Aadmi Party and Congress propaganda is out in the open. They are abusing each other in the rest of the country and… https://t.co/w0AyoYjIcS
#ChandigarhMayor Resigns Ahead Of Supreme Court Hearing In Vote-Count Row https://t.co/HMSYXhxWNA
#WATCH | Delhi: Neha Musawat, who joined the BJP today, says, "AAP party made false promises to us. Today after getting inspired by the works of PM Modi, I have joined BJP..." She was Aam Aadmi Party Chandigarh councillor. https://t.co/c00mk2hkG4 https://t.co/nQZTWeFdeC
Chandigarh Mayor Manoj Sonkar resigns amid allegations that recent mayoral polls were rigged
VIDEO | "Arvind Kejriwal and all our (AAP) top leaders have been raided repetitively, but not a single penny has been recovered because we are honest people. It was pretty easy to join the BJP and absolve us of all our crimes. But, that is not the case," says AAP chief national… https://t.co/20rHOAvZjC
#WATCH | Delhi: On Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement against AAP, Chief Spokesperson of AAP Priyanka Kakkar says, "All the departments including ED, CBI, Income tax have targeted Arvind Kejriwal, raiding our leaders... Amit Shah should disclose the source of funds used to… https://t.co/36K3gZ515Q
#WATCH | Delhi: On Amit Shah's Statement against AAP, Chief Spokesperson of AAP Priyanka Kakkar says, "All the departments including ED, CBI, Income tax have targeted Arvind Kejriwal, raiding our leaders... Amit Shah should disclose the source of funds used to buy MLAs… https://t.co/McIKER1ngP