Anil Masiya, who was the election officer in the Chandigarh mayoral election case, apologized unconditionally in the Supreme Court. Let us inform you that proceedings under section 340 of CrPC have been initiated against Anil Masih by the bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. He was accused of tampering with the ballots, declaring eight votes invalid and making false statements in court.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appeared for Anil Masih in the Supreme Court. He said that Anil Masih tendered an unconditional apology as he was under immense pressure. Rohatgi said he spoke to Masih himself and he apologizes for his behavior. The senior lawyer also said that he advised the Messiah to retract his statement and surrender before the court.
On the other hand, senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhbi opposed this and said that mere apology will not work. On this, the Supreme Court said that the hearing of the case will be held on July 23.
What did Messiah claim in the affidavit?
Anil Masih claimed in his first affidavit that eight ballot papers were spoiled by the leader of Aam Aadmi Party. He was also told that he was depressed after the leak of the video and because of this he could not answer correctly the questions asked by the Chief Justice. Moshiach also wrote that I was in mental trauma and stress. There was a tense atmosphere in the court after heated arguments, which affected me.
What happened in the mayoral election of Chandigarh
Earlier, the mayoral elections were supposed to be held on January 18, but Anil Masih’s health condition deteriorated that day after which the elections were postponed. The administration then announced mayoral elections on February 6, but mayoral candidate Aam Aadmi and Congress alliance Kuldeep Kumar moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court demanding an early election. The Supreme Court ordered elections to be held on January 30. Elections were then held on January 30 under tight security. BJP candidate Manoj Sonkar won the election with 16 votes. Whereas AAP and Congress alliance candidate got 12 votes. 8 votes of the alliance were rejected. The matter then went to the High Court and then to the Supreme Court. Anil Masih was accused of disrupting the counting of votes.
The Supreme Court had in February declared AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the validly elected candidate for the post of Mayor of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. The Supreme Court also said that free and fair elections are necessary to maintain faith in democracy.
