Explained: What Happened In Chandigarh Mayoral Election, Why Did Supreme Court Call It 'Murder Of Democracy'?

The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the conduct of last week's Chandigarh mayoral election as the "murder" and "mockery" of democracy.

In the elections, the results of which were contested by the AAP bloc, Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) candidate Manoj Sonkar was declared victorious after eight votes in favour of Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Kuldeep Singh were declared invalid.

While the numbers were in favour of Singh, the invalidation of eight votes meant that Sonkar won. The AAP and Congress, who contested the polls under the INDIA bloc's banner, alleged the votes were held invalid in a "premeditated manner". They further referred to footage of the scene in which they said BJP leaders were seen running away with ballots cast.

Following the contested election, AAP approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, but the court refused to grant an immediate stay to the election. Then, AAP moved the Supreme Court. In the hearing in the case on Monday, the SC bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra ordered the indefinite deferment of the Chandigarh civic body's first meeting until further orders.

The SC also asked all records pertaining to the election to be deposited with the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The case will next be heard on February 19.

During the proceedings, CJI Chandrachud came down heavily on the conduct of the election's Anil Masih, a member of the BJP's Minority Cell, and said the footage presented to the court showed that he was defacing the ballots. The defacement by Masih, argued the AAP, was done in order to invalidate the votes and make the BJP candidate win the poll.

What Happened In Chandigarh Mayoral Election?

The Chandigarh mayoral election was held on January 30. The 35 members of the civic body along with the Chandigarh MP, who is the ex-officio member of the house, cast their votes in the election. BJP's Kirron Kher is the Chandigarh MP.

Of the 36 votes, BJP had 15 votes, AAP had 13, Congress seven, and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) one. The Congress-AAP combine thus had the required numbers at 20, well past the majority-mark of 18.

The final result was not the expected lines as BJP's candidate Manoj Sonkar got 16 votes and AAP-Congress candidate Kuldeep Singh got 12 votes as eight votes were invalidated. The Congress and AAP alleged that the returning officer, Anil Masih of BJP, declared votes invalid in a "premeditated manner".

Congress leader Pawan Bansal and others highlighted that the live telecast of the counting showed BJP leaders running away with the ballot papers and tearing them, before the Opposition could get access to them, according to The Indian Express.

Bansal said, "Congress and AAP agents were not given access to the ballot papers. The presiding officer conducted a charade of an election. We were seeing live…If you notice, the presiding officer immediately vacated the chair after the voting and the BJP candidate was there standing beside him. BJP members rushed in, took away the ballot papers and tore them before anyone could even go in and see."

Since the election, visuals have surfaced that show Masih looking at the camera and appearing to tamper the ballots. The video was also referred to by the Supreme Court in its scathing comments on Monday. In another set of visuals, Masih is seen vacating the seat.

On his part, Masih, a nominated member, told The Wire, that the votes were declared invalid due to councillors’ own mischief. They did not properly cast votes, which made their votes invalid during counting, said Masih.

"In fact, I invited members of the opposition to check all the votes after the counting, but they created a ruckus and even tried to snatch the votes. All thanks to Chandigarh’s police security, the votes were taken into safe custody. They are now with the Chandigarh administration," said Masih to The Wire.

Supreme Court Is Watching, Won't Allow Murder Of Democracy: CJI Chandrachud

After the Punjab and Haryana High Court refused to grant an immediate stay on the Chandigarh mayoral election results, AAP approached the Supreme Court and a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra heard the case.

After watching the video in which returning officer Anil Masih appears to be tampering with the cast ballots, Chandrachud came down heavily on him and said "it's obvious that he has defaced the ballot" and that he should be prosecuted. He further termed the conduct of the polls under Masih's watch as the "murder" and "mockery" of democracy.

"What is he doing? It’s obvious that he has defaced the ballot…This man has to be prosecuted...This is a mockery of democracy. It’s murdering democracy. Is this the way he conducts an election? We are appalled by what has happened. We are simply appalled by what has happened," said Chandrachud, as per The Indian Express.

The SC deferred the first meeting of the Chandigarh civic body indefinitely until further orders. In the next hearing of the case on February 19, the SC instructed Masih to be present to explain his conduct.

The Apex Court also said the Punjab and Haryana HC failed to do its job. "Prima facie, at this stage we are of the considered view that an appropriate interim order was warranted, which the High Court has failed to pass, in order to protect the purity and sanctity of the electoral process," said the Apex Court in its order.

The SC further instructed that Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh to submit "the entire record pertaining to the selection of the Mayor of Chandigarh" to the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana HC "for safekeeping and custody", which will include ballot papers, videography of the entire electoral process, and all other material in the custody of the Presiding Officer (also called Returning Officer), reported SC Observer.

After footage that appears to be showing Masih tampering with the ballots was shown in the court, Chandrachud said he is defacing the ballots. He further said that the exercise brought the purity of the election into question.

"Is this behaviour of a returning officer? (He) Looks at the camera, faces the ballot and then obviously where there is a cross at the bottom, he just keeps it in the tray. The moment there is a cross at the top, the man defaces the ballot and looks at the camera to see who is looking at him...Please tell your returning officer that the Supreme Court is watching… And we will not allow democracy to be murdered like this. The only thing, the great stabilising force in this country, is the purity of the electoral process, but what has happened here," said Chandrachud, as per The Express.