
The Supreme Court revealed on Tuesday that during the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the presiding officer deliberately attempted to tamper with eight ballot papers. In response, the court directed the Registrar Judicial to serve a notice to Anil Masih, initiating perjury proceedings against him for providing false testimony before the court.
The Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, stated that it is apparent that the presiding officer intentionally sought to deface eight ballot papers.
The presiding officer, speaking in the Supreme Court on Monday, asserted that the markings on eight ballots were made due to them being defaced. Following this statement, the top court cautioned him about the serious repercussions of providing false testimony.
Masih has been granted a three-week window to furnish a response and clarify why perjury proceedings should not be commenced against him.
Advocate Shadan Farasat announced that a notice of perjury has been served against the presiding officer, Anil Masih, with proceedings under the Indian Penal Code also initiated against him.
The court clarified that its actions were not aimed at annulling the entire election but rather at addressing specific issues in the counting process. This focused intervention resulted in the invalidation of eight votes meant for Kumar.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in the Chandigarh mayoral polls held on January 30, surpassing the Aam Aadmi Party-Congress alliance candidate. The returning officer invalidated eight votes cast by the coalition partners, sparking allegations of ballot tampering. Manoj Sonkar of the BJP secured the mayor’s position with 16 votes, defeating his rival who garnered 12 votes, but later resigned from the post. Additionally, three AAP councillors switched their allegiance to the BJP.