The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared AAP Mayor Candidate Kuldeep Kumar as elected mayor of Chandigarh in a big setback to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In a big win for Aam Aadmi Party, the Supreme Court on Tuesday took into notice that each one invalidated eight ballots have votes forged in favour of the AAP Mayor Candidate Kuldeep Kumar. It additionally directed that the votes on the ballot shall be recounted and these eight shall be handled as legitimate. Thereafter, outcomes be declared based mostly on that, the Court noticed.
“We direct that the election result by the presiding officer is quashed,” Supreme Court stated, including “A fit case is made out for the initiation of proceedings under Section 340 CrPC against Anil Masih, Returning Officer of Chandigarh Mayor poll”. It additionally directed Registrar Judicial to problem a discover to him to present trigger as to why steps shouldn’t be initiated in opposition to him.
AAP leaders congratulate
“Kuldeep Kumar is a boy from a poor family. On behalf of INDIA alliance, many congratulations on becoming the Mayor of Chandigarh. This became possible only because of Indian democracy and the Honorable Supreme Court. We have to preserve the impartiality of our democracy and autonomous institutions at any cost,” Arvind Kejriwal stated on X.Â
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann additionally stated, “At last truth prevailed… We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court regarding the Mayor election in Chandigarh… CJI declared AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar as Mayor, upholding the 8 votes rejected by the Presiding Officer… They have got a befitting reply to the hooliganism openly committed by BJP… Many congratulations to the people of Chandigarh on this big victory of democracy…”
Congress reacts
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge stated, “The Supreme Court has saved Democracy from the fangs of an autocratic BJP, which resorted to dirty election manipulation. The institutional sabotage in the Chandigarh Mayor Polls is only a tip of the iceberg in Modi-Shahâs devious conspiracy to trample Democracy. All Indians must fight this onslaught on our Constitution, collectively. Never forget. Our Democracy shall be at the crossroads in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections!”
Manoj Sonkar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defeated Kuldeep Kumar after polling 16 votes in opposition to his rival’s 12 to bag the mayor’s publish. Sonkar, nonetheless, resigned subsequently, whereas three AAP councillors defected to the BJP.
Pulling up Returning Officer Anil Masih, CJI confirmed the ballots to the attorneys and noticed that each one eight had obtained the stamp for Kuldeep Kumar, AAPâs councillor, and the votes have been forged for him. “What the Returning Officer Anil Masih does is, he puts a single line. Yesterday he told the Supreme court that he put the lines because the ballot papers were defaced. Where is the ballot paper defaced?”
Masih has been accused of defacing eight poll papers that have been declared invalid. Earlier, the returning officer admitted to placing âXâ marks on the eight poll papers to guarantee they don’t get combined.
