Chandigarh mayor approaches Supreme Court seeking 'Show of Hands' vote for mayor elections

Chandigarh mayor and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kuldeep Kumar has approached the Supreme Court requesting that voting for the Chandigarh mayoral elections scheduled for January 30 be conducted by a 'show of hands' rather than a secret ballot..The Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh on Friday sought the response of the Chandigarh administration on a limited aspect of whether an independent observer can be appointed to conduct free and fair polls. The Court observed that the main concern raised by Kumar was that voters should have free and fair choices during the elections. The Court added that it will ensure this. "Issue notice for the limited purpose of appointing an Independent Observer to conduct the election scheduled to be held on January 30, 2025. The election process to continue,’’ the Court proceeded to order. The election process shall continue in the meantime, the Court clarified. It also expressed its inclination to appoint a retired judge to supervise the election..Senior Advocate Gurminder Singh appeared for Kumar on Friday and recounted the irregularities that took place during the 2024 mayoral elections in Chandigarh, when ballot papers were selectively defaced by Returning Officer (RO) Anil Masih to declare the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate as the winner. After AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar approached the Supreme Court against this, the Court had eventually overturned the RO's declaration and held Kumar to be the winner of the mayoral elections. Kumar has now urged the Court to direct that voting for the upcoming mayor elections be held by a 'show of hands' to avoid similar issues. .During the hearing, Senior Advocate Singh also referred to certain other issues that Kumar ran into during his tenure as mayor. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had ruled that his term should last for 12 calendar months, but calculated it from January 30, 2024 (the date of the earlier disputed results) rather than February 20, 2024, when the Supreme Court declared Kumar the winner of the mayoral elections. "You are declared elected on 20 February. Now the question is once that election has been set aside, are you not for all intents and purposes a Mayor from the very date of inception?" Justice Kant remarked. Senior Advocate Singh replied that this would have been the case if the election had resulted in a candidate being returned. He added that the Supreme Court did not declare the earlier election declaration invalid on February 20. Alongside the proposal of having voting be done by 'show of hands' this time round, Singh also suggested appointing a neutral observer from Punjab or Haryana to ensure that the elections are held fairly this year. The Court, in turn, called for a response from the government on this proposal. The Supreme Court will hear the matter again on January 27, 2025..[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.