A new and clear video of Presiding Officer Anil Masih from the day of Chandigarh mayor election surfaced on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, February 5. In the video, Anil Masih is seen ticking the ballot votes on January 30 when the mayoral election of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation took place. The video is going viral on social media. Reacting to it, AAP MP Swati Maliwal said Maish has been "caught red-handed".
Masih's video surfaced on a day when the Supreme Court came down heavily and termed his conduct "mockery of democracy". "He is murdering democracy. Is this the behaviour of a returning officer, who looks at the camera and defaces the ballot?" the apex court remarked earlier today. The top court alsoordered him to remain present before the court on February 19 to explain his conduct.
Anil Masih Caught On Camera Ticking Ballot Votes In Chandigarh Mayor Election:
"During the course of the hearing, the video has been played in court. The Returning Officer shall remain present before this court on the next date of listing to explain his conduct as it appears in the video," said a bench presided over by CJI DY Chandrachud in its order. It further ordered that ballot papers, videography footage and other records of the mayoral poll will be sequestered under the custody of the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The Supreme Court also asked to postpone the ensuing meeting of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, which is scheduled to take place on February 7. INDIA bloc's mayoral candidate Kuldeep Kumar had approached the top court against the Punjab and Haryana High Court's refusal to stay the poll results.
BJP Bagged Chandigarh Mayor Post:
The AAP-Congress alliance lost the contest despite having the maximum councillors as eight out of 36 votes were declared invalid by presiding authority Masih, a nominated councilor, with no voting rights. The BJP got 16 votes, while the AAP-Congress alliance had 12 votes despite having 20 councillors.
