New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday lashed out at returning officer Anil Masih while hearing allegations of vote tampering in the Chandigarh mayoral elections held on 30 January.
During the hearing, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud quizzed Masih, who was personally present in court. The CJI warned him that if he didnât answer him truthfully, he could be prosecuted.
âItâs a very serious matter,â he said, and then inquired of Masih about his conduct during the counting of votes.
âDid you or did you not put an X mark on some of the ballot papers?â the CJI asked Masih. In response, Masih replied, âI only marked on the defaced ballots⦠I just did not want them to mix with the other papers.â
âWhy were you defacing the ballot papers? You can sign the ballot papers, but why were you ticking or crossing selected ballot papers? Which rule gives you these powers,â the CJI shot back.
When Masih kept repeating he was marking the âdefacedâ ballots, the CJI said, âHis answer is very clear, he has to be prosecuted. I think interference with the electoral democracy by a returning officer is the gravest possible thing.â
The court was hearing a petition filed by Aam Aadmi Party councillor Kuldeep Kumar, who lost the mayoral election held on 30 January to the BJPâs Manoj Sonkar.
The BJP won the mayoral elections following the returning officerâs move to scrap eight opposition votes. Sonkar was declared mayor of Chandigarh with 16 votes, against the 12 won by Kumar. Eight votes were declared invalid, which led opposition leaders to raise allegations of vote tampering.
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CJI Chandrachud suggested Monday that the court direct the deputy commissioner of the Chandigarh administration to appoint a fresh returning officer who is not aligned to any political party.
He said the process should be taken to the logical conclusion from the stage it stopped before the declaration of results. He suggested the results could then be declared disregarding any mark put by Masih on the ballot papers, and the process should be overseen by an officer appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The apex court proposed that the results be declared by counting the existing ballot papers, disregarding the marks made by the returning officer, instead of a fresh election.
For now, the court has ordered the ballot papers to be produced before it, and also expressed concern over the âhorse trading which is taking placeâ. The ballots will be produced before the court by 2 pm on Tuesday, and necessary security arrangements are to be made to ensure their safe transit and proper preservation and custody. The video of the counting of votes also has to be produced before the court. Masih has to be present in court personally on Tuesday as well.
After he lost, Kuldeep Kumar had approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court with a plea for setting aside the elections. He approached the Supreme Court after failing to get any interim relief from the high court, calling it a âcase of abuse of public office, which destroys the very essence of faith reposed in the officer and is a constitutional wrong and breach of the doctrine of public trust,â in his plea.
The Supreme Court on 5 February came down heavily on the returning officer who held the elections, saying that he was âmurdering democracyâ. It ordered the preservation of the entire record of the election process, including ballot papers and videography, through the registrar general of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Justice Chandrachud had then orally remarked, âIs this the way he conducts the elections? This is a mockery of democracy. This is a murder of democracy. This man should be prosecuted.â
The court then directed the presiding officer to remain personally present before the court on 19 February to explain his conduct. It also directed that a meeting of the municipal corporation, scheduled for 7 February, be deferred until a further order by the court.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Sonkar resigned as mayor Sunday, a day before the Supreme Court hearing.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
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