The Supreme Court of India is considering appointing an independent observer for the Chandigarh mayoral polls set for January 30, 2025, following a plea from Mayor Kuldeep Kumar of AAP, concerned about election malpractices. The court plans to address previous irregularities and has scheduled a hearing for January 27, 2025, to finalize the observer’s appointment.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Friday explored the possibility of appointing an independent observer to ensure “free and fair” elections for the Chandigarh mayoral polls scheduled for January 30, 2025. The move comes in response to a plea by Chandigarh mayor Kuldeep Kumar of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who urged the court to conduct the voting through a “show of hands” rather than a “secret ballot” to prevent malpractices.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh noted:
“Issue notice for the limited purpose of appointing an independent observer to conduct the election scheduled to be held on January 30, 2025. Meanwhile, the election process will continue.”
The court indicated it may appoint a retired high court judge as the observer and posted the hearing for January 27, 2025.
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Advocate Gurminder Singh, appearing for Mayor Kuldeep Kumar, highlighted irregularities in last year’s elections, which were conducted via a secret ballot. Singh stated:
“We all know what happened during last elections when it was secret ballot and CCTV video recording.”
The plea argued that the previous election had seen ballot paper tampering, and a resolution passed by the municipal house for a “show of hands” was ignored.
The contentious mayoral election held on January 30, 2024, saw BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar defeating AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar by 16 votes to 12. However, the election result was marred by accusations of ballot tampering, with eight ballots cast in Kumar’s favor being invalidated by the returning officer, Anil Masih.
The Supreme Court’s ruling on February 20, 2024, overturned this result, declaring Kuldeep Kumar as the rightful mayor. The court noted that the eight invalidated votes were “clearly cast in Kumar’s favor” and criticized the returning officer for “serious misdemeanour”. It even ordered prosecution of Anil Masih for providing false statements to the court.
Justice Surya Kant emphasized that the date of election for Kumar’s tenure would be January 30, 2024, when the original results were declared, rather than February 20, 2024, when the Supreme Court restored his position.
“You were declared elected as mayor from the very date of inception. It does not depend on the time of physical occupation of the seat,”
Justice Kant remarked.
Last year’s mayoral election saw the BJP emerge victorious under controversial circumstances, prompting the resignation of Manoj Sonkar after the Supreme Court verdict. The incident also led to the defection of three AAP councillors to the BJP, intensifying the political tussle in the Union Territory.
The Supreme Court has directed Mayor Kumar to suggest names for the observer and sought a response from the Chandigarh administration. The final decision on the appointment of an observer will be taken during the hearing on January 27, 2025.
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