Chandigarh: The Supreme Court, in its historic verdict on the Chandigarh Mayor election canceled the results of the polls and declared the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Kuldeep Kumar Tita the winner. The court in its verdict mentioned the presiding officer, Anil Masih of committing a serious crime and directed contempt of court proceedings against him.
After the decision, AAP Mayor Kuldeep Kumar Tita celebrated enthusiastically and thanked everyone. He said, "This is the victory of truth. Democracy has been kept alive. I am very grateful for this. BJP will be exposed just like it has been exposed here. They will have to face defeat everywhere."
On 3 AAP councilors joining BJP, he said that he is hopeful that they will return. "It is possible that they may have gone there misguided. But he was a true soldier of the party," he added.
Ballot papers were brought to the court today as per order. After the hearing started, the court said that they want to check them and the judicial officer present there handed over the eight papers to the bench. Along with this, the court also examined the video of Masih's and in its verdict asked for the cancellation of poll results.
The SC said action must be initiated against him under Section 340 of CrPC (gives the Court power to make a preliminary inquiry and this power should be freely used) directing the Registrar Judicial to issue a notice to Masih. He will now have to respond to the notice within three weeks.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has thanked the Apex Court by posting on the social media platform (X). He also congratulated Kumar and mentioned that he belongs to a poor family.
"On behalf of INDIA alliance, many congratulations on becoming the Mayor of Chandigarh. This became possible only because of Indian democracy and the Honorable Supreme Court. We have to preserve the impartiality of our democracy and autonomous institutions at any cost," he added.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot has said that he welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court. He said, "The authority and credibility of institutions like the Election Commission has been reduced. This is not good for democracy. I am surprised that the Supreme Court had to intervene and set the record straight."
AAP Punjab State Secretary Sunny Singh Ahluwalia said that it was clear to everyone that BJP stole votes and Masih was used as a catalyst. "Today the Supreme Court has given its approval to this. They are known for horse trading. What is Operation Lotus known for? Efforts are made to buy, intimidate and suppress the MLAs. If nothing else, the ballots are replaced. The character of BJP and its standards are now clear," he added.
Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said that the world's largest political party BJP was seen messing up on camera in the mayoral elections. He said, "This is a matter of concern for the country. The Supreme Court has The central government has been exposed in this matter.
Chandigarh Mayoral election case was heard by Chief Justice India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justice Manoj Mishra and Justice JB Pardiwala's bench did. Showing the ballot papers, CJI Chandrachud said that all the rejected eight votes were for Kuldeep Kumar Tita of the AAP.
There was an uproar after the results and the CJI again said that polled votes would be re-counted and the results declared on the basis of that. After this, the video of Masih was replayed in the court. Senior lawyer Maninder Singh told the bench that the Mayor has resigned.
According to the law, if the post of mayor is vacant, re-election will have to be held. The court then started reading the verdict and canceled the results of Chandigarh Mayor election and declared AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar Tita the winner of the election.
