The Supreme Court on Monday appointed an independent observer to monitor the voting for the Chandigarh mayoral elections scheduled for January 30..Chandigarh mayor and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kuldeep Kumar had approached the Supreme Court requesting that the election be conducted by a 'show of hands' rather than a secret ballot.The Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, however, noted that the Court had notice on Kumar's plea for the limited purpose of appointing an independent observer so that the polls are conducted fairly.Following no objection from the State, the Court ordered that the election shall be conducted in the presence of the observer and that the entire process be duly videographed.The bench has appointed Justice Jaishree Thakur, former Judge of Punjab & Haryana High Court as the independent observer..Senior Advocate Gurminder Singh , who appeared for Kumar, last week recounted the irregularities that took place during the 2024 mayoral elections in Chandigarh.Last year, the ballot papers were selectively defaced by Returning Officer (RO) Anil Masih to declare the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate as the winner. After Kumar had moved the Court, the RO's declaration was overturned and the AAP candidate was declared to be the winner of the mayoral elections. .During the hearing, Senior Advocate Singh today submitted that any former judge can be appointed. It was also submitted that Kumar had approached the top court to avoid a controversy similar to last year..Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta submitted that the Chandigarh Administration has no objection to appointment of an observer.However, he also said that "history may not be repeated every time". Further, he submitted that appointment of an observer should not become a precedent for elections in other municipal bodies."Intention meeting of the corporation shall not be subject to the person... he shall be an observer," he added..[Read Order]
