On Wednesday,the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued notices to the Chandigarh administration and the Municipal Corporation following a petition by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seeking fresh elections under the supervision of a retired High Court judge. The court granted three weeks to the respondents to file their responses.
On January 30, the BJP secured victory in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, causing a surprise defeat for the AAP-Congress alliance. Alleging foul play, the alliance moved the High Court for new elections. The petition, filed by AAP Councillor Kuldeep Kumar, who was the mayoral candidate, named the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and the Union Territory administration among the respondents.
After the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel, Gurminder Singh, informed reporters that the Court allowed three weeks for the Chandigarh administration, the Municipal Corporation, and others to submit their replies. Senior standing counsel Anil Mehta clarified that the Court did not grant interim relief to the petitioner.
In the plea, Mr. Kumar seeks to annul the mayoral election process, claiming “complete fraud and forgery.” He also requests an injunction against the newly elected mayor from performing municipal functions, asserting that the entire election process was tainted by fraud.
Despite predictions of an easy victory by the Congress and AAP in the 35-member House of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, the BJP retained all three top posts in the contested elections. Opposition Councillors accused presiding officer Anil Masih of tampering with ballot papers, a charge rejected by Masih and the BJP.
