Appalled by the alleged defacing of ballot papers in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the Supreme Court on Monday said this is a mockery of democracy and ordered that the ballots and the video of the electoral proceedings be preserved. Taking note of a plea of an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor alleging wrongdoing in the polls, the court issued notices to the Chandigarh authorities, including the civic body.

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra expressed annoyance after watching the video of the electoral proceedings and said that, prima facie, the returning officer was ‘defacing’ the ballot papers. “This is a mockery of democracy. We are appalled by what has happened. We will not allow democracy to be murdered like this,” the CJI said.