The Supreme Court on Monday appointed a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Jaishree Thakur, as an independent observer to oversee the voting for Chandigarh mayoral elections scheduled for January 30.
A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh ordered that the election shall be conducted in the presence of Justice Jaishree Thakur and that the entire process will be duly videographed.
The bench said that Justice Thakur has been appointed as an observer following a no-objection given by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on behalf of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.
“In light of the mutually agreeable stand taken by both the sides, we deem it appropriate to appoint Justice Jaishree Thakur, former Judge of Punjab & Haryana High Court, as the independent observer. The election proceedings shall be conducted in the physical presence of the learned observer. The election proceedings will be duly videographed,” the bench said in its order appointing Justice Jaishree Thakur as an independent observer.
The bench further ordered the Returning Officer to contact the independent observer Justice Thakur and coordinate with him well before the scheduled date of election.
The observer shall be paid an honorarium of Rs one lakh which shall be paid by the Chandigarh administration within one week and all the necessary security arrangements shall also be made, it ordered.
Chandigarh mayor and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kuldeep Kumar had approached the top court requesting that the election be conducted by a ‘show of hands’ rather than a secret ballot.
However, the bench said that it had issued notice on the plea last week limited to the appointment of an independent observer to ensure that the election is conducted in a “free and fair manner” on the scheduled date.
Amidst the allegations of irregularities in 2024 mayoral election, the AAP-Congress combine’s candidate Kuldip Kumar had approached the top court challenging the election result in which BJP candidate Manoj Kumar Sonkar was declared elected as Mayor by the Returning Officer Anil Masih.
After scrutinising the ballot papers, the apex court on August 20 last, declared the Aam Aadmi Party-Congress combine’s candidate Kuldeep Kumar as Mayor of Chandigarh and quashed the election result announced by the Returning officer Anil Masih on January 30, 2024.