CHANDIGARH — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued a decisive interim order staying the election of the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor, and Deputy Mayor of the Kapurthala Municipal Corporation. The civic elections, which were held amidst heavy political friction on July 8, have come under severe judicial scrutiny following allegations of widespread manipulation and procedural violations. A Division Bench comprising Justice Deepak Sibal and Justice Rupinder Chahal passed the directions and ordered a comprehensive forensic examination of the official video recordings capturing the controversial election proceedings. To prevent administrative paralysis while the legality of the civic body’s inaugural meeting is being determined, the court directed the Deputy Commissioner of Kapurthala to assume immediate charge and oversee the day-to-day functioning of the Municipal Corporation in place of the contested mayoral setup.
The judicial intervention unfolded after the state government produced the complete election records and videography of the July 8 session, complying with an explicit prior directive from the high court. The Bench meticulously viewed the submitted footage under the supervision of the High Court Registrar before determining the next course of action. Recognizing the gravity and public importance of the administrative misconduct allegations, the court directed that the entire video recording be sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Chandigarh for a thorough forensic analysis. The specialized laboratory has been mandated to submit its detailed findings before the bench ahead of the next scheduled hearing, where the ultimate fate of the local body governance will be deliberated.
The legal challenge was mounted through petitions filed by senior Congress leader and Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjit Singh, alongside 26 newly elected municipal councillors. The petitioners contended that the entire mayoral selection was non-existent in the eyes of the law and executed in direct violation of prescribed statutory procedures. According to the dynamic detailed in the plea, 27 councillors backing the Congress-supported mayoral candidate were intentionally seated separately from the 24 councillors aligned with the ruling party. The petition alleged that the Municipal Commissioner completely ignored the majority bloc, addressing only the group of 24 councillors before calling upon a ruling party member to abruptly propose their candidate.
The legal documents further asserted that after the nomination was proposed, officials immediately announced that the ruling party’s candidate had been elected to the top municipal post without offering the majority coalition any opportunity to nominate a counter-candidate or cast their votes. The petitioners stressed that no democratic voting by a show of hands took place, no formal vote count was carried out, and no official result sheet was recorded or uploaded to public domains. Furthermore, the administrative officials allegedly abandoned the venue abruptly without conducting the scheduled elections for the Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor positions. The petition also flagged severe inconsistencies in the documentation process, alleging that while the state administration had ordered an exhaustive videography of the entire timeline, only highly selective, edited portions of the volatile meeting were actually recorded. The high court will resume formal proceedings immediately upon receiving the CFSL forensic report.
