The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday directed the Punjab state government to present the complete record of proceedings from the July 8 Kapurthala Municipal Corporation mayoral election. The order comes in response to legal challenges alleging that the election was manipulated and conducted without a majority.
A division bench of Justice Deepak Sibal and Justice Rupinder Chahal issued a notice of motion for Tuesday regarding two writ petitions. One petition was filed by Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh, who is an ex-officio member of the municipal corporation, while the second was filed by 26 elected councillors. Together, the petitioners claim to hold a 27-vote majority in the 51-member electorate, compared to the 24 votes held by the ruling party’s faction.
Allegations Of Illegal Election Process
According to the petitions, the municipal administration administered oaths to the newly elected councillors during the July 8 meeting, which had been scheduled under a July 7 court order. However, the petitioners allege that no actual voting or official proceedings for the mayoral posts occurred.
The legal filings state that the Municipal Commissioner addressed only the 24 councillors from the ruling party, prompting one of them to propose a candidate. Narinder Singh, the councillor representing Ward 35, was subsequently declared elected as Mayor. The petitioners argue this declaration was made unofficially and unlawfully, without allowing the 27-member majority faction to propose their own candidate or cast their votes.
Lack Of Official Records And Videography
The petitions further allege that the Municipal Commissioner and the 24 ruling party councillors abruptly left the venue before electing the Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, leaving the scheduled election incomplete.
Furthermore, the petitioners contend that no video recording of the election took place. This omission allegedly violated a July 5 directive from the Jalandhar Division Commissioner instructing the Kapurthala Municipal Commissioner to arrange videography, as well as existing State Election Commission guidelines and prior High Court orders.
Rana Gurjeet Singh reported that he broadcasted a live video on Facebook showing the seating arrangement and present councillors to protest the proceedings, after which the Returning Officer and other officials departed. The petitioners claim that no official results have been recorded, notified, or uploaded to the municipal corporation’s website.
Demands For Independent Observers And Inquiry
Represented by Senior Advocate Chetan Mittal alongside Advocates Kunal Mulwani and Ritvik Garg, the petitioners are seeking the cancellation of the entire July 8 meeting.
They have requested the court to direct a new, transparent election in accordance with the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act of 1976, supervised by an independent observer. Additionally, they are calling for an inquiry into the incident by an independent authority or a retired High Court judge, as well as the preservation and submission of all CCTV footage and records from the July 8 session.
