Punjab: Supreme Court sets aside polls in 50 wards, orders re-elections in six weeks

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana ordered fresh elections in 50 wards — 28 in Patiala district and 22 in Moga.

The Supreme Court has set aside the elections to 50 wards in Punjab after a fact-finding commission appointed by it found “widespread obstruction during the nomination process, whereby nomination papers were snatched, torn or destroyed, and candidates were assaulted, detained or threatened” in the local body polls.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana ordered fresh elections in 50 wards — 28 in Patiala district and 22 in Moga. “…the Commission found 50 ward elections to be vitiated and deserving of being set aside. We accept the recommendations and direct that fresh elections be conducted in the relevant 50 wards…The entire process of re-election shall be completed within 6 weeks,” the bench ordered. In the September 28 order, which was made available Wednesday, the bench took note of the fact that Kapil Sibal, appearing for the State of Punjab “states that the State has no objection to the acceptance of the recommendations made by the Commission”.

To ensure that re-elections are conducted in a free, fair, and transparent manner, the top court asked the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to appoint, within one week, a monitoring committee comprising a retired judge of the HC to oversee the process.

Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 26 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry. He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with the daily newspaper, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More