In a plea filed by Chandigarh Mayor Kuldeep Kumar, the Supreme Court today appointed an Independent Observer to supervise the Chandigarh Mayoral Elections scheduled for January 30. The election proceedings shall take place in the physical presence of the Observer, the Court said.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh heard the matter and ordered the appointment, following a no-objection given by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on behalf of the Municipal Corporation.
The order was dictated thus:
“He (Kuldeep Kumar) approached the High Court seeking a direction to defer the election till 20 February, 2025 on the premise that he will complete the actual tenure on that date. That prayer has been declined by the High Court. On previous date of hearing…we were also not inclined to interfere with view taken by High Court. However, notice was issued for the limited purpose of appointing an independent observer to ensure that the election is conducted in a free and fair manner on the scheduled date. In this regard, Mr Tushar Mehta, ld. Solicitor General of India, representing the Corporation, fairly states that he has no objection if an Independent Observer is appointed by this Court. In light of the virtually agreeable stand taken on both sides, we deem it appropriate to appoint […] as Independent Observer. The election proceedings shall be conducted in the physical presence of the ld. Observer. The election proceedings will be duly videographed…The ld. Observer will be entitled to an honorarium of…All necessary security arrangements shall also be made.”
