NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday appointed former Punjab and Haryana High Court's judge Justice Jaishree Thakur as an independent observer to the Chandigarh mayoral poll, slated for January 30, in order to ensure that the election is "free and fair".
SC Appoints Former Judge as Independent Observer for Chandigarh Mayoral Poll 2025
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh made the appointment after recording consent from the counsel of the petitioner current mayor Kuldeep Kumar and Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, led by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
"We deem it appropriate to appoint Ms Justice Jaishree Thakur as the independent observer. The election proceedings shall be conducted in the physical presence of the observer. The election proceedings will be duly videographed," the bench said.
Justice Jaishree Thakur to Oversee Chandigarh Mayor Election for Fairness
The court directed the returning officer to contact the independent observer and coordinate with her well before the scheduled date of election.
"We may clarify in this regard that this court had no doubt at all on the objectivity, independence, or fairness of the authorities. However, the proposal to appoint an independent observer was mooted having regard to the apprehension expressed by the petitioner," the bench said in its order.
The court directed for payment of Rs one lakh as honorarium to the judge.
Chandigarh mayor Kuldeep Kumar from AAP approached the top court seeking a direction for "show of hands" instead of a "secret ballot" to ensure fairness in the polling process.
He questioned the High Court's refusal to defer the election till February 20 as he claimed he would complete his actual term on that date.
The bench which declining to intervene with his plea, went ahead to appoint the observer to ensure purity of the poll to be held as per the original scheduled.
The Supreme Court had on February 20, 2024 had declared defeated AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the mayor overturning the result of the contentious poll where the BJP nominee emerged as an unlikely winner.
The bench had then ordered the prosecution of former returning officer Anil Masih for “serious misdemeanour” and also making attempts to mislead the court.
