Restoring trust in democracy – Hindustan Times

The Supreme Court docket has executed properly to overturn the leads to the Chandigarh mayoral polls and declare the AAP candidate the winner. It additionally ordered prison proceedings in opposition to the presiding officer, Anil Masih, who had not solely subverted the result however lied beneath oath to the SC. Masih’s affiliation with the BJP supplies the political backdrop to what was a brazen seize of the election course of. His fraud — he defaced eight ballots after which declared them as invalid — delivered the mayor’s workplace to his social gathering: The SC described his motion, caught on digicam, as a “homicide of democracy”.

The SC verdict stands out for the promptness of the Court docket’s motion and the refined method of its intervention; the Court docket didn’t quash the election course of however restricted itself to the wrongdoings within the counting course of and took it upon itself to oversee the recount. The three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud mentioned: “We’re of the view that the court docket should step in such distinctive circumstances to make sure that the fundamental democratic mandate is ensured.” Earlier, it made a telling comment on the Punjab and Haryana excessive court docket (HC), which refused to behave in opposition to the returning officer: “An applicable interim order was warranted which the HC had didn’t move, so as to shield the purity and sanctity of the electoral course of.” The SC’s motion, coming within the wake of its ruling on the electoral bonds scheme the place it privileged the suitable of residents to know over the “privateness” of political events and their donors, will assist restore the sanctity of the democratic course of.

The electoral fallout of the SC verdict could also be restricted, but it surely frames the BJP itself in a poor mild. The BJP’s ambition to win in any respect prices and hegemonise politics at varied ranges is comprehensible, however because the social gathering in workplace, it has to set an instance for others on observing constitutional propriety. That somebody as senior as BJP president JP Nadda congratulated the Chandigarh BJP for profitable after the brazen mandate-grab sends out a worrying message. Masih’s audacious assault on the democratic course of couldn’t have been a lone-wolf act, for positive. Regardless of the low stakes concerned — within the bigger scheme, this was an inconsequential election for an inconsequential put up — the complete conspiracy must be unearthed.