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Punjab MC polls: SC to appoint ex-HC judge to look into grievances of candidates
A bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh asked the Punjab government and the petitioners, who challenged the result of the civic body elections, to suggest a retired high court judge who could examine their grievances.
The Supreme Court on Monday said it will appoint a retired high court judge to conduct an inquiry into the grievances of some candidates of the Punjab municipal body polls.
A bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh asked the Punjab government and the petitioners, who challenged the result of the civic body elections, to suggest a retired high court judge who could examine their grievances.
It is a question of public faith and confidence. If any allegations are made against the authorities, they cannot look into the grievances, the bench told the Punjab advocate general Gurminder Singh.
The court said it will pass a detailed order, giving the terms and reference of the one-man fact-finding committee, in a day or two. The matter will be next heard on May 22.
The seat of the committee will be in Chandigarh, where the petitioners who have approached the high court or the Supreme Court with grievances against the December 2024-January 2025 civic polls can make their claims, the bench added.
The top court clarified that it wasn’t ‘casting any aspersions’ on anyone and the grievances could be looked into only on a case-to-case basis.
Senior advocate Vivek Tankha and other lawyers appearing for the petitioners submitted that several candidates were not allowed to file the nomination papers.
Gurminder Singh opposed the submissions and said everything was done in accordance with the law.
On December 22, last year, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won the municipal elections in Patiala but fell short of a majority in Ludhiana and Jalandhar municipal corporations, even though it emerged as the single-largest party.
In Amritsar and Phagwara, the Congress was the single-largest party. Elections for Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Amritsar and Phagwara MCs, along with aside from 44 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, took place on December 21, 2024.
Several candidates who were allegedly not allowed to file nomination papers or those who were aggrieved with the election of mayor and deputy mayor in Patiala MC had moved the Punjab and Haryana high court. After the high court allowed the mayoral polls in Patiala MC, the petitioners had moved top court.
