Chandigarh Mayor Election Returning Officer Anil Masih Tenders Unconditional Apology To Supreme Court

Anil Masih, who was the returning officer of the controversial Chandigarh Mayor election, tendered an unconditional apology before the Supreme Court on Friday (April 5). Masih is facing criminal proceedings initiated by the Supreme Court under Section 340 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for making a false statement that the ballots were invalid.

Today, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Masih, submitted before a bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, "I have made an apology which is completely unconditional. That's my respectful submission." Rohatgi submitted that Masih would withdraw the earlier affidavit filed by him. In the previous affidavit, Masih said that when he had made the statement before the Court on February 19, he was reeling under depression and anxiety.

The bench adjourned the matter to July for further consideration.

In February, a dramatic hearing took place in the Supreme Court in the petition filed by AAP leader Kuldeep Kumar, who challenged the election of a BJP candidate as the Chandigarh Mayor. Kumar alleged that Masih, a BJP-nominated member of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation while acting as the Presiding Officer of the election, had deliberately defaced eight ballots containing votes in favour of Kumar to render the votes invalid. The Court watched the video of the election, in which Masih was seen making marks on the eight ballots.

When asked by the Court why he did that, Masih replied that he was marking the ballots which were already defaced. However, after a physical inspection of the ballots, the Court found that the ballots were not defaced and that Masih had made a dishonest statement. The Court, after a recount of the ballots, declared Kuldeep Kumar as the Mayor and initiated proceedings against Masih for lying before the Court.

Case Details : KULDEEP KUMAR vs. U.T. CHANDIGARH SLP(C) No. 002998 - / 2024