Supreme Court Sets Aside Punjab Municipal Elections Over Nomination Obstruction

The Supreme Court has set aside elections in 50 municipal wards across Punjab's Patiala and Moga districts after a court-appointed inquiry found that candidates were assaulted, threatened and prevented from filing their nomination papers.A Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed fresh elections to be held within six weeks, with the process to be monitored by a committee comprising a retired High Court judge.The order was passed on September 28 on petitions alleging widespread interference in municipal elections, including physical assaults, snatching of nomination papers and failure to videograph nominations despite High Court directions.Justice Joymalya Bagchi, CJI Surya Kant and Justice V MohanaIn March 2025, the Supreme Court had appointed former Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Nirmaljit Kaur to investigate the disputed allegations.The inquiry found that nomination papers were snatched, torn or destroyed, while candidates were assaulted, detained or threatened.In Patiala, elections in 28 wards were found vitiated, primarily because opposition candidates were prevented from filing nominations or contesting. The inquiry also recorded evidence of bogus or multiple voting and intimidation in two other wards, without concluding that these irregularities necessarily changed the results.In Moga district, elections in seven Dharamkot wards were found vitiated due to obstruction, coerced withdrawals or wrongful rejection