Tomorrow is the second Chandigarh Mayor election hearing before the SC, and the Returning Officer admitted that he had crossed out a vote on the ballot

Tomorrow is the second Chandigarh Mayor election hearing before the SC, and the Returning Officer admitted that he had crossed out a vote on the ballot

Manoj Sonkar, a BJP candidate, had emerged victorious in the Chandigarh municipal elections. However, after the polls, a video of the returning officer ogling the CCTV camera went viral. Subsequently, the Supreme Court censured him and mandated his presence in the court. He admitted in court today that he had crossed something on the voting paper.

The Aam Aadmi Party and Congress filed a suit about Chandigarh mayor elections, and the Supreme Court heard the case today. After the poll officer's video went viral and both parties used it as evidence before the supreme court to accuse the election officer of rigging, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud became enraged with her. He acknowledged in court today that he had crossed out the voting paper.

When Returning Officer Anil Masih appeared in the Supreme Court today, the court questioned him about whether or not he had cross-marked the voting paper. The returning officer, Anil Masih, said that he had taken this action when the Aam Aadmi Party's mayor candidate arrived, seized the vote paper, tore it, and fled. Anil Masih said that he was attempting to mark the paper when the bench questioned why the cross had been placed.

The Supreme Court will hear a ballot paper presentation tomorrow.

When he came before the Supreme Court, Attorney General Tushar Mehta acknowledged that he had made the mistake. It is appropriate to take action against them in this circumstance. The court said, "We will request that the Deputy Commissioner designate a new returning officer." We'll urge the Punjab and Haryana High Court Registrar General to keep an eye on this.

The court said that they would request that the Registrar General High Court provide them with all of the election-related documents. We shall hear this subject on Tuesday of next. The court said that at 10.30 am, a judicial official would deliver the ballot paper that is in the Register Journal to us.

What took happened before to this?

Three Aam Aadmi Party councilors have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. Neha Musawat, Gurcharan Kala, and Poonam Devi, councilors for the Aam Aadmi Party, have now joined the BJP. Following that, the whole math involved in the mayoralty elections has now shifted. In the current mayoral elections, the BJP has a clear majority.

Prior to the Supreme Court hearing, Mayor Manoj Sonkar tendered his resignation from the position. The election process was really already on hold due to an order from the highest court.

What took place on January 30th?

On January 30, the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation conducted elections. At that time, the BJP had 14 councilors. The biggest party in terms of membership was the BJP. Following that, the Congress had seven MLAs and the Aam Aadmi Party had thirteen. Aside from this, Shiromani Akali Dal has one councilor. The Chandigarh MP also exercises his right to vote. Congress and AAP have jointly challenged the mayor. This means that AAP should have become the mayor, but BJP, with 16 votes, won the mayoralty when 8 AAP-Congress ballots were thrown out.

Following this, Congress and the AAP submitted a plea to the Supreme Court. Social media users were also able to see a video of Anil Masih, the mayor election presiding officer, using a pen on the voting paper. The AAP and Congress submitted this video to the Supreme Court as proof.

The returning officer had received criticism from SC.

The election for Chandigarh's mayor took place on January 30. The Supreme Court ordered the sealing of the vote papers and halted the election process while it heard a plea from Congress and the AAP alleging electoral tampering. Anil Masih, the returning officer for the mayoralty elections, has come under fire from Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, who said, "It is clear from the CCTV footage that he (the presiding officer) spoiled the ballot papers." They ought to face legal action. This is a travesty of democracy. We are shocked to learn that democracy is being killed.

The scheduled day of elections was January 18.

Chandigarh was originally going to hold mayor elections on January 18, but Anil Masih apparently became unwell. This necessitated delaying the elections. Subsequently, the Punjab-Haryana High Court ordered that the election date be set for January 30. The poll was also observed by CCTV, although it was allegedly manipulated. The Aam Aadmi Party and Congress called for a new election, and the mayor asked for one.