Supreme Court Orders Fresh Elections in Two Patiala Municipal Wards
The Supreme Court has directed new elections for two wards in Patiala, following a report on electoral irregularities.
Patiala, October 17 (Daily Kiran) : The Supreme Court has mandated fresh elections for wards 15 and 58 of the Patiala Municipal Corporation. This ruling, issued on October 17, 2026, follows a previous order from September 28 that called for new elections in 50 municipal wards across Punjab due to significant electoral irregularities.
A bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, alongside Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, clarified that the new elections for the specified Patiala wards are necessary to ensure a fair electoral process. The court rejected a separate petition seeking similar orders for wards 10 and 11 of the Dharmkot Municipal Council, as these wards were not included in the fact-finding report accepted by the Supreme Court.
The court’s decision was based on findings from a commission led by former High Court Justice Nirmaljeet Kaur. This commission investigated allegations of widespread disruptions during the nomination process, including incidents of intimidation, destruction of nomination papers, and physical assaults on candidates. The report highlighted that the elections in 50 wards, including 28 in Patiala and 22 in Moga, were compromised.
Evidence of electoral fraud, such as multiple voting and voter intimidation in wards 15 and 58, prompted the court to order new elections. Additionally, the Supreme Court established a monitoring committee, chaired by a retired High Court judge, to oversee the entire electoral process. Senior members of the Bar will also be appointed as observers to ensure transparency.
The court has mandated that the entire election process be completed within six weeks, implementing measures such as videography of the nomination process and allocation of election symbols to uphold the integrity of the elections.
