The Supreme Court has ordered fresh elections in 50 municipal wards across Punjab after a court-appointed commission found serious irregularities and alleged obstruction during the nomination process for the 2024 local body elections.

The court cancelled the earlier election results in 28 wards in Patiala district and 22 wards in Moga, directing authorities to complete fresh polling in all 50 wards within six weeks.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana accepted the findings of a one-member fact-finding commission headed by former High Court judge Nirmaljit Kaur.

The commission was constituted in March 2025 and submitted its report in November the same year.

Commission flags obstruction during nominations

In its findings, the commission reported multiple instances of alleged interference during the nomination process. The Supreme Court noted that nomination papers were allegedly taken away, damaged or destroyed in some cases.

The report also recorded allegations that candidates were assaulted, detained or threatened while attempting to participate in the electoral process.

The bench accepted the commission's recommendations and directed that the affected wards go through the electoral process again.

“The entire process of re-election shall be completed within six weeks,” the court said in its order.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Punjab government, told the court that the state had no objection to the commission's recommendations.

Supreme Court lays down safeguards

The court ordered additional safeguards for the fresh elections to ensure transparency throughout the process.

The Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has been asked to nominate two or three senior members of the High Court Bar as observers.

The filing and scrutiny of nomination papers, allotment of election symbols and polling will be videographed in the presence of the observers. The recordings will be preserved and subsequently submitted to the Monitoring Committee.

The court also directed the authorities to provide the committee with ward-wise details of officials assigned election duties before the nomination process begins. Details of police officers of the rank of DSP and above deployed for the elections must also be furnished.

Any complaint alleging interference or obstruction during the re-election process can be submitted to the Monitoring Committee.

The Punjab government will bear the observers' and committee members' honorarium as well as related expenses, and will provide the required administrative, transport, logistical and security support.

High Court to verify election process

Once the fresh elections are completed, a report will have to be submitted to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The Supreme Court said the re-election process would be considered complete only after the Chief Justice is satisfied, on the basis of the report, that the polls were conducted freely and fairly.

BJP attacks Bhagwant Mann government

The Supreme Court's decision triggered a political response from the BJP, which accused the AAP government in Punjab of failing to protect the integrity of the municipal elections.

BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia welcomed the order and alleged that democracy had been undermined in the state. He demanded the resignation of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and also targeted AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal.

Bhatia alleged that candidates had been prevented from submitting nomination papers and subjected to threats and physical attacks. These allegations formed part of the political criticism following the court order.

The BJP leader also accused the AAP leadership of adopting a different position in Punjab while raising allegations about democracy elsewhere.

Case dates back to 2024 civic polls

The municipal elections at the centre of the dispute were held in December 2024.

Several candidates who claimed they were prevented from filing nominations approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Separate petitions were also filed over the election of the mayor and deputy mayor of the Patiala municipal corporation.

In January 2025, the High Court allowed the Patiala municipal election process to proceed, observing that the postponement affecting some wards would not prevent the election from taking place.

The aggrieved candidates subsequently moved the Supreme Court, leading to the appointment of the fact-finding commission and, ultimately, the order for fresh elections in the 50 affected wards.