Reacting strongly to the alleged defacement of ballot papers during the Chandigarh Mayor elections, the Supreme Court has directed prosecution against Returning Officer Anil Masih. The court on Monday heard a petition highlighting alleged irregularities in the elections, especially after three AAP councilors joined the BJP.
In the elections held on January 30, BJP’s Manoj Sonkar won against AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar. However, controversy arose as 8 votes were declared invalid, leading to intense investigation and allegations from the opposition.
A video showing the presiding officer, Anil Masih, who is a member of the BJP’s minority cell, marking the ballot papers of AAP councilors was widely circulated on social media. This was sharply criticized by the Aam Aadmi Party and its allies, who argued that Masih deliberately invalidated their votes, potentially influencing the election results in favor of the BJP.
The court not only expressed concern over the alleged extortion, but also stressed its seriousness, terming the ongoing political maneuvering as “horse-trading”.
The conversation between the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and Anil Masih during the hearing took place as follows:
CJI: Christ, I am asking you a question. If you are not giving truthful answers you will be prosecuted. This is a serious matter. We have seen the video. What were you doing looking at the camera while crossing off the ballot papers? Why were you marking?
still: After voting I had to mark the ballot papers. The deformed people had to be separated.
CJI: It is very clear from the video that you were marking X on some ballot papers. Have you marked some ballots with an Answer specifically yes or no.
still: Yes.
CJI: How many ballot papers were marked?
still: 8.
CJI: Why did you deface the ballot papers? You just had to sign the papers. Where in the rules does it provide that you can put other marks on ballot papers
still: The ballot papers were defaced, snatched and destroyed by the candidates…
CJI: Solicitor sir, he will have to be prosecuted. He is interfering in the election process.
The court has asked the ballot papers to be brought to it for examination on Tuesday. After initially proposing that the votes should be counted by a new returning officer rather than holding fresh elections, the court said it would decide on the issue after examining the ballot papers.
