SC declares AAP's Kuldeep Kumar as winner of Chandigarh mayoral polls

New Delhi: On the second day of hearing in the Chandigarh mayoral polls matter on Tuesday, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said that the Supreme Court will direct that the votes at the poll shall be recounted and these 8 shall be treated as valid and results be declared on the basis of that.

Showing the ballots to the lawyers, which were invalidated by the presiding officer Anil Masih, CJI said that all 8 have received the stamp for Kuldeep Kumar (AAP candidate). 

“The votes are cast for Kuldeep Kumar. What he (returning officer) does is, he puts a single line. Just one line, as seen in the video,” CJI said.

In its verdict, the bench declared AAP councillor Kuldeep Kumar as winner and Mayor of union territory of Chandigarh and ordered prosecution of returning officer Anil Masih for misdemeanour.

CJI asked the invalid votes to be shown to him as soon as the hearing began. He showed the ballot papers to the lawyers of both the parties.

The BJP won the Chandigarh mayoral polls on January 30 defeating the comfortably placed AAP-Congress alliance candidate after the returning officer declared as invalid eight votes of the coalition partners, drawing accusations of tampering with ballots.

Manoj Sonkar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defeated Kuldeep Kumar after polling 16 votes against his rival's 12 to bag the mayor's post. Sonkar, however, resigned subsequently, while three AAP councillors defected to the BJP.

On Monday, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra remarked, "We are deeply concerned about the horse-trading which is taking place."