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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
DHANANJAYA Y. CHANDRACHUD, CJI., J.B. PARDIWALA, MANOJ MISRA, JJ.
Kuldeep Kumar – Petitioner
Versus
U.T. Chandigarh and Others – Respondents
Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No. 2998 of 2024
Decided On : 05-02-2024
Election - Mayor of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation - Interim orders passed by the court to protect the purity and sanctity of the electoral process by sequestering the entire record pertaining to the election and deferring the ensuing meeting of the Municipal Corporation.
Fact of the Case:
The video of the proceedings for conducting the election to the Post of Mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation was played in Court. The court found that an appropriate interim order was warranted to protect the purity and sanctity of the electoral process.
Finding of the Court:
The court directed the sequestration of the entire record pertaining to the election and deferred the ensuing meeting of the Municipal Corporation. The Returning Officer was also directed to explain his conduct as it appeared in the video.
Issues: The issues revolved around the conduct of the election process and the need for interim orders to protect its purity and sanctity.
Ratio Decidendi: The court found that an appropriate interim order was warranted to protect the purity and sanctity of the electoral process, and therefore, directed the sequestration of the entire record pertaining to the election and deferred the ensuing meeting of the Municipal Corporation.
Final Decision: The court ordered the sequestration of the entire record pertaining to the election and deferred the ensuing meeting of the Municipal Corporation. The Special Leave Petition was listed for a later date.
ORDER :
1. Issue notice.
2. Pursuant to the interim order of the High Court in an earlier writ petition, the proceedings for conducting the election to the Post of Mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation were videographed. During the course of the hearing, the video has been played in Court.
3. 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.
4. Prima-facie, at this stage, we are of the considered view that an appropriate interim order was warranted, which the High Court has failed to pass, in order to protect the purity and sanctity of the electoral process.
5. We direct that the entire record pertaining to the election of the Mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation shall be sequestered under the custody of the Registrar General of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. This shall include:
(ii) Videography of the entire electoral process.
(iii) All other material in the custody of the Returning Officer.
6. This exercise shall be carried out forthwith by 5 p.m. this evening.
7. Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General appearing on behalf of the Returning Officer, states that the Returning Officer has handed over the entire record in a sealed format to the Deputy Commissioner, UT Chandigarh on 30 January 2024.
8. The Deputy Commissioner, UT Chandigarh, shall comply with the above direction by handing over the entirety of the record to the Registrar General of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana for safe keeping and custody.
9. The ensuing meeting of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, which is to take place on 7 February 2024, shall stand deferred, pending further orders of this Court.
10. List the Special Leave Petition on 19 February 2024.
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