AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar declared mayor of Chandigarh by Supreme Court

New Delhi: During the hearing on Tuesday, the Supreme Court strongly reprimanded Returning Officer Anil Masih. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud examined eight “invalid” votes in the dispute between the BJP and the AAP.

The court stated that these votes would be considered valid, and the results would be declared based on this. The Chief Justice requested eight ballot papers from the returning officer and expressed a desire to inspect eight invalid ballots. Subsequently, the ballot papers were presented to the court. During this process, the Supreme Court noted that among the eight ballot papers, AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar had received votes. The court permitted all parties to examine the ballot papers, including Masih and his lawyer Mukul Rohatgi. However, lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi deemed this act contempt of court and labeled it a heinous crime.

Meanwhile, the Chief Justice proposed that the eight invalid votes should also be considered valid, and the result should be determined through a recount. A video was played in court for approximately 20 minutes.

In response, Rohatgi argued that he had assessed certain ballots as illegal, asserting that Masih and his team were not involved in any fraudulent activities. He explained that some ballot papers were excluded due to deletions, which did not warrant accusations of theft against the officer.