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The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the civic poll officer who held the Chandigarh Mayor elections and said that it is obvious that the Returning Officer has "defaced" the ballot papers.
"Is this the way he conducts the elections? This is a mockery of democracy. This is a murder of democracy. We are appalled. This man should be prosecuted. Is this the behaviour of the Returning Officer?" Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said. The top Court further ordered the preservation of an entire record of the election process including ballot papers, videography and other material through the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court. SC directed that the ensuing meeting of the Chandigarh Corporation shall be deferred till the next date of hearing. Kuldeep Kumar, who lost Chandigarh mayoral election, has approached the apex court against High Court refusal's to grant an immediate stay on election result in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate was declared the Mayor. The BJP's Manoj Sonkar was declared the Mayor of Chandigarh on January 30 after he won the mayoral polls with 16 votes against the 12 votes bagged by Congress-AAP candidate Kuldeep Tita. Eight votes were declared invalid. Eight votes, which were declared invalid in the Chandigarh Mayoral polls, have led opposition leaders to raise allegations of rigging with Congress and AAP, attacking the BJP-led central government over the issue. (ANI)
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