The Supreme Court gave the BJP victory at Chandigarh mayoral elections a jolt, threatening to order fresh elections after a video played in the open courtroom on Monday showed the Returning Officer “obviously defacing” ballot papers, while taking stealthy glances at the camera overhead like a “fugitive”.
“What is he doing? It is obvious that he has defaced the ballot. This man has to be prosecuted… Why is he looking at the camera like a fugitive and then quietly defacing the ballot? This is a mockery of democracy… He is murdering democracy. Is this the way to conduct an election?” Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, heading a three-judge Bench, addressed Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Union Territory of Chandigarh, and senior advocate Maninder Singh, for the winning candidates.
The Supreme Court directed the sequestration of the entire records of the mayoral elections under the custody of the Registrar-General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court forthwith by 5 p.m. on February 5. These records include the ballot papers and the whole video shot of the electoral process.
