New Delhi: The Supreme Court strongly criticized the actions of the presiding officer in the Chandigarh mayoral elections held on January 30, describing them as a severe blow to democracy. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud ordered that the complete records related to the election of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation mayor be secured under the custody of the Registrar General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court by 5 pm on Monday.

The apex court sought the entire record of the election process, including ballot papers, videography, and other material, through the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana HC, concerning the Chandigarh mayor elections. Additionally, the apex court ordered the indefinite deferment of Chandigarh civic body's first meeting, originally scheduled for February 7. The top court heard a plea filed by AAP councillor Kuldeep Singh challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court's order, which refused to grant any interim relief to the party seeking fresh mayoral polls in Chandigarh.

In a hard-hitting critique of the process, a bench led by CJI D Y Chandrachud expressed concerns over the cancellation of eight votes of AAP-Congress combine by the returning officer. The CJI emphasized that the returning officer appears to have defaced the ballots and needs to be prosecuted. "This is a mockery of democracy. RO is murdering democracy. We are simply appalled by what he is doing," remarked the CJI.

AAP termed the poll as "unconstitutional and illegal" and an act of "deshdroh" (treason). Delhi chief minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of "stealing" the elections. Meanwhile, both AAP and Congress hailed the Supreme Court's observations, describing it as a "tight slap" on the face of BJP. AAP leader Malvinder Singh Kang said the Supreme Court's observation restored faith in democracy and the judicial system.

Senior Congress leader Pawan Bansal called it a victory of truth and criticized the BJP for allegedly undermining democratic values. HS Lucky, the Congress' Chandigarh unit chief, expressed hope in the Supreme Court for justice. The row over the civic polls led to a massive political slugfest over the weekend, with both AAP and BJP staging protests and counter-protests in the national capital.