SC slams Chandigarh Mayoral poll's returning officer, says 'will not allow murder of democracy'

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which had gone to court, had lost the election to the BJP despite having the numbers after eight votes were marked invalid.

Stating that it would hear the case on Feb 12, the top court ordered the Registrar General to secure all the records in the case.

"Is this the behaviour of a returning officer? He looks at the camera, and defaces the ballot," Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said furiously after viewing a video of the counting on Monday. 

"Where there is a cross at the bottom (of the ballot paper), he (the Returning Officer) puts it into the tray. The moment there is a cross at the top, the man defaces the ballot and looks at the camera. Tell him that the Supreme Court is watching him. We will not allow democracy to be murdered like this. The great stabilising force in the country is the purity of the election process," said the Chief Justice, who is part of the three-judge bench hearing AAP's petition.

The AAP welcomed the remarks of the Supreme Court and said that it was a tight slap on the face of the dictatorial Bharatiya Janata Party, which was "responsible for the murder of democracy in broad daylight".

AAP Punjab Chief Spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang, along with Chairman Neel Garg, said that it is a very significant statement of the SC where Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has said that what happened in the Chandigarh Mayoral elections is a mockery of democracy and they will not allow democracy to be murdered like this.

Kang said that the entire nation witnessed the working style of the BJP on January 30th, and they not only disrespected the mandate of the people of Chandigarh but also hurt the faith of all the citizens in our democracy.

He said that this decision of the SC on this matter has restored the faith of the people in our democracy and justice system. He said that the people of India will remember this and will give the BJP a befitting reply in the general elections of 2024.

AAP claimed the officer, Anil Masih, was caught on camera tampering with the ballot papers and demanded that he be arrested.

The eight votes cancelled would have won them the election, the party contended. AAP's ally Congress alleged that the BJP workers tore up the ballot papers and their agent was not allowed to see them.

The BJP has 14 councillors in the 35-member corporation, AAP 13 and its ally Congress, seven. Besides going to court, AAP has held mega protests in Delhi and Chandigarh over the issue.