‘Murdering democracy’On Monday, the top court had voiced its deep concern over the “horse-trading” and said it would examine the ballot papers and video recording of the counting. Instead of ordering fresh polls, the top court had said it may consider a declaration of results based on votes already cast.Further, the SC bench had reiterated that it had become evident that Masih made a deliberate attempt to deface eight ballot papers and pulled up the returning officer, asking him why he put ‘X’ marks on ballot papers.Masih, who appeared before the bench in pursuance of the apex court’s direction, was quizzed by the judges over the alleged tampering of certain ballot papers.Replying to the judges’ questions, Masih said he did put the “X” mark on eight already “defaced” ballot papers and accused Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors of creating a ruckus and trying to snatch away the ballot papers. He said that due to this, he was looking at the CCTV camera at the counting centre.On February 5, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the Masih, asserting that he was “murdering democracy” and ordering the preservation of the entire record of the election process, including ballot papers, videography, and other material, through the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court. The observations of the apex court came after it watched video of the controversial election.
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