Supreme Court to Appoint Observer for Chandigarh Mayoral Elections

The Supreme Court plans to appoint an independent observer for the Chandigarh mayoral elections scheduled for January 30, following a plea by Mayor Kuldeep Kumar. This plea seeks a 'show of hands' voting method to replace the secret ballot, citing fairness concerns from previous elections.

The Supreme Court has indicated it will appoint an observer for the Chandigarh mayoral elections to ensure a free and fair process on January 30. This action follows a plea by current mayor Kuldeep Kumar, who advocates for a 'show of hands' method instead of a secret ballot.

On Friday, the bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, issued a notice indicating their plan to appoint a retired high court judge as poll observer. They also scheduled a hearing for January 27 to discuss further measures to ensure election integrity.

This development arises after allegations of ballot tampering in last year's election, which saw Kumar being declared mayor only after intervention by the Supreme Court. The AAP mayor's proposal for transparent voting seeks to prevent a recurrence of the irregularities reportedly witnessed previously.

(With inputs from agencies.)