{
 "no": 31,
 "id": "case-31",
 "sk": 20240130,
 "year": 2024,
 "date": "30 Jan 2024",
 "cat": "Democratic institutions",
 "sev": "red",
 "title": "Chandigarh mayor poll. Ballots defaced on camera",
 "stamp": "'Murder of democracy'. Supreme Court.",
 "human": {
  "v": "An entire electorate's verdict, nearly stolen by one official",
  "est": false
 },
 "cost": {
  "v": "8 opposition votes wrongly voided to hand the seat to the ruling party",
  "est": false
 },
 "what": "In the Chandigarh mayoral election the returning officer declared eight votes of the opposition INDIA bloc invalid, handing the seat to the BJP candidate, while a video showed him defacing ballots and glancing at the camera.",
 "dodge": "Caught on tape, the officer's conduct was defended in court by the government's own law officer. The Supreme Court called it a murder of democracy, said the officer should be prosecuted, and took the rare step of counting the voided votes itself to declare the rightful winner, delivering the accountability the system had refused.",
 "ministers": [
  {
   "n": "Returning Officer / local BJP",
   "r": "Conduct of the poll"
  }
 ],
 "pos": "The officer first claimed the ballots were already defaced; the Supreme Court rejected this after watching the video.",
 "alt": "Independent, videographed election administration with instant consequences for tampering, not a top court forced to referee a rigged municipal vote.",
 "sources": [
  {
   "label": "'The Supreme Court is watching'",
   "url": "https://www.scobserver.in/journal/the-supreme-court-is-watching-cji-warns-presiding-officer-allegedly-caught-vote-tampering-in-chandigarh-mayoral-elections/",
   "tier": 2,
   "archiveUrl": "http://web.archive.org/web/20260218214431/https://www.scobserver.in/journal/the-supreme-court-is-watching-cji-warns-presiding-officer-allegedly-caught-vote-tampering-in-chandigarh-mayoral-elections/"
  },
  {
   "label": "RO to be prosecuted (Bar and Bench)",
   "url": "https://www.barandbench.com/news/murder-of-democracy-chandigarh-mayor-polls-returning-officer-prosecuted-supreme-court",
   "tier": 2
  }
 ],
 "caseUrl": "https://whoisresponsible.xyz/case/case-31/"
}