NEW DELHI: BJP leader
Manoj Sonkar
on Sunday stepped down as the mayor of Chandigarh, a day ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on allegations of irregularities in the vote-counting process.
Sonkar had emerged victorious in the
mayoral polls
held on January 30, securing 16 votes compared to his Aam Aadmi Party rival's 12.
However, the
AAP
, in alliance with the Congress, approached the apex court after presenting a video allegedly showing the returning officer tampering with the ballot papers during the vote count.
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud-led bench was shown the video, with the court expressing strong disapproval of the returning officer's actions and labeling it a "mockery of democracy" and a "murder of democracy".
The court directed that all poll records including ballot papers and videography of the proceedings be submitted to the registrar general of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The court further deferred the upcoming sitting of the municipal corporation which was scheduled to take place on February 7. Furthermore, the returning officer was asked to be present in the court on the next date of hearing on February 19.
(With inputs from agencies)
English (US) ·