The Supreme Court today has taken a stern stance against Anil Masih, the Presiding Officer responsible for overseeing the Chandigarh Mayor elections, accusing him of defacing ballot papers. The apex court has ordered the indefinite deferment of the Chandigarh civic body's first meeting scheduled for February 7, highlighting the severity of the allegations.

The court's intervention came in response to a plea filed by AAP councillor Kuldeep Kumar, challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that denied interim relief and refused to order fresh elections supervised by a retired judge. The AAP-Congress coalition alleged that the BJP secured victory in the mayoral elections due to tampering of ballot papers by Presiding Officer Anil Masih.

During the hearing, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud expressed strong disapproval of Masih's conduct, stating, "It is obvious that he (Presiding Officer) has defaced the ballot papers. He needs to be prosecuted. Why is he looking at the camera? Mr Solicitor, this is a mockery of democracy and murdering democracy. We are appalled."

CJI Chandrachud pointed out specific instances of irregularities, saying, "Is this the behavior of a Returning Officer? Wherever there is a cross at the bottom, he does not touch it, and when it is at the top, he alters it. Please tell the Returning Officer that the Supreme Court is watching him."

Emphasizing the importance of maintaining the purity of the election process, the Chief Justice declared, "The murder of democracy can't be allowed."

The Supreme Court has directed that the entire record of the mayoral elections be sequestered with the Punjab and Haryana High Court Registrar General. This includes preserving the ballots and videography records. The Returning Officer has been put on notice to hand over all relevant records.

Additionally, the Presiding Officer, Anil Masih, has been summoned to appear before the Supreme Court on February 19 to explain his conduct as captured on the video evidence.

The controversy stems from the Chandigarh mayoral polls held on January 30, where the BJP emerged victorious against the Congress-AAP alliance. Manoj Sonkar of the BJP secured 16 votes, defeating the AAP's Kuldeep Kumar, who garnered 12 votes. Eight votes were declared invalid.

Case: Kuldeep Kumar vs UT Chandigarh and ors.