Anil Masih, the Returning Officer in the Chandigarh mayoral election, issued an unconditional apology to the Supreme Court on Friday for misstating facts about ballot tampering. Presided over by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, the bench initiated proceedings against Masih under section 340 of the CRPC for invalidating eight votes through tampering and providing false testimony.
During a brief hearing, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Masih, stated to the bench: "I have rendered an unconditional apology, and I can only assert that he was under immense pressure. I personally spoke with him, and he is seeking forgiveness for his conduct. He will withdraw his original affidavit and submit himself to the mercy of this court."
Opposing counsel, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, objected: "He cannot escape by merely apologizing."
On this, CJI observed that the case hearing would continue on July 23.
Anil Masih confesses to emotional trauma and stress:
In his initial affidavit, Masih had claimed that eight ballot papers were tampered with by an AAP leader, causing him depression and inhibiting his ability to correctly answer questions posed by the Chief Justice. The affidavit stated: "I was suffering from mental trauma and stress. The court environment was tense with heated debates affecting me. While responding in court, I was under heavy medication."
The Supreme Court had declared in February that the AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar was the duly elected Mayor of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and emphasized the importance of independent and unbiased elections for sustaining legitimacy and trust in democracy.
The detailed order stated, "This court has consistently acknowledged that free and fair elections are part of the constitution's basic structure. Local elections act as microcosms of the broader democratic framework in the nation."
Supreme Court's Stern Reprimand:
During the hearing of a petition filed by the Aam Aadmi Party, Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had sharply criticized the administration and Returning Officer Anil Masih, indicating that it was a mockery of democracy. The court noted that the election video clearly showed a murder of democracy, questioning, "What is this Returning Officer doing? We will not allow the death of democracy in our country. The Supreme Court will not turn a blind eye to such situations." The comments followed after watching the video footage of the voting and counting during the mayoral and deputy mayoral elections.
'Why was he looking at the camera?'
The video clip shown in court depicted the moment when votes were being disqualified. The Supreme Court had directed Returning Officer Anil Masih to appear, and during his court appearance, CJI asked what the duties of a Returning Officer were and how one is appointed. The CJI inquired why Masih was looking towards the camera.
Masih's statements in court:
Masih explained that there was a lot of noise towards the camera, which is why he was looking in that direction. The court asked if he had marked X on any ballot papers, to which Masih admitted to having done so on eight papers. He recounted how the AAP mayoral candidate snatched the ballot papers and fled. The Court demanded an explanation for the crosses, querying the rule under which he had acted.
