New Delhi:
The Chandigarh Mayor elections controversy has come underneath the lens of the Supreme Courtroom, which declared in the present day that it could not permit the ”homicide of democracy” and ordered the Registrar Common to safe all of the information by 5 pm in the present day. The court docket will hear the case on February 12.
Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Occasion — which misplaced the Mayoral election held final month to the BJP — has accused the Presiding Officer of rigging the election and demanded that he be arrested for ”tampering” with poll papers. Eight votes have been declared invalid, which turned the election in favour of the BJP regardless of the numbers favouring the AAP Congress alliance.
AAP has held mega protests in Delhi and Chandigarh over the problem and went to court docket, contending that the Returning Officer was caught on digicam smudging the poll papers.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud mentioned what the Returning Officer did ”was just like the homicide of democracy”.
”It’s clearly seen within the video that he’s wanting into the digicam and spoiling the poll paper… Authorized motion ought to be taken towards this officer,” the Chief Justice of India mentioned, whereas listening to the petition by AAP.
The three-judge bench of Chief Justice Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra, has additionally put a freeze on the finances session of the Chandigarh civic physique, which was anticipated to be introduced on Tuesday. The finances can’t be introduced until additional orders, the judges mentioned.
In its petition, AAP had alleged that the elections weren’t carried out in a free and honest method. Poll papers have been tampered with and outcomes have been declared in favor of BJP.
AAP has referred to as for canceling the election, sealing the information, banning the mayor from assuming workplace, an investigation into the rigging and a contemporary election underneath the supervision of a retired decide of the Excessive Courtroom.
The occasion went to the highest court docket after a bench of Justice Sudhir Singh and Justice Harsh Bangar of Punjab and Haryana Excessive Courtroom refused to grant it any interim reduction.
The BJP had swept the mayoral polls, in a setback to the AAP-Congress alliance, which had claimed the election was an acid take a look at for the INDIA bloc.
BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar defeated AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar, polling 16 votes towards his rival’s 12. Eight votes have been declared invalid.