The Supreme Court of India has ordered fresh elections in 50 municipal wards across Punjab after a commission's report revealed widespread violations, including physical violence and tampering with nomination papers, during the December 2024 local body polls. The re-polls will be supervised by observers appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to ensure transparency.
THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA on October 7, 2026, directed fresh polls in 50 Municipal wards across Punjab following a fact-finding commission’s report noting major “obstructions during the nomination process” of the local body elections. The local body elections in Punjab took place on December 21, 2024, and have been under serious criticisms arising from the irregularities in its conduct.
A Supreme Court Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, alongside Justices Joymala Bagchi and V. Mohana ordered fresh elections in 28 wards of Patiala district and 22 wards in Moga respectively.
The report was prepared by a one-member commission led by former High Court judge Nirmaljit Kaur, which was appointed on March 24, 2025. The commission submitted its report on November 18, 2025.
The Supreme Court bench informed of its decision in a September 28 order, stating that fresh elections would be conducted in 50 wards where issues of widespread interference, including physical violence, manhandling of nomination papers and the lack of videographing the nominations were raised.
The Supreme Court, in March 2025, appointed a one-member commission headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Nirmaljit Kaur to investigate the alleged violations. According to the report placed by the commission, there were instances of serious violations, ranging from snatching, tearing and destroying nomination papers, and also physically assaulting, detaining and threatening candidates.
In total, 50 wards across the Patiala and Moga district were found party to these irregularities. In 28 wards across Patiala district, the candidates from the opposition were blocked from filing nominations, and in some cases, prevented from contesting. Adding to this were the cases of multiple and fake voting, alongside voter intimidations. However, the commission did not state that these incidents directly changed the electoral outcome.
Similarly, in Moga district, the electoral process in seven wards of Dharamkot were obstructed, candidates were forced to withdraw their nominations and in some cases their nominations were unreasonably rejected. The inquiry revealed a serious issue in the Baghapurana region, where elections in all 15 wards were faced with such violations against the opposition candidates.
Representing the State of Punjab was Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who informed that the State had no objection to accept the recommendations of the inquiry commission.
The Supreme Court Bench ordered the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to supervise the re-polls by nominating at least two or three senior members of the high court bar to act as “observers” in the election process.
Speaking at the court, the Bench said, “The filing, scrutiny and the submission of nomination forms, allocation of symbols, polling process, shall be videographed in the presence of the nominated observers. Following this, the recordings shall be preserved and handed over to the Monitoring Committee,” The Hindu reported.
Furthermore, the Bench also directed the State of Punjab to set-up a Monitoring Committee, create an ward-wise list of officials for election duty and also a list of police officers of the DSP rank for the re-polls in the State. Additionally, it also noted that an honorarium would be paid to those stationed for election duty, as fixed by the Chief Justice of the High Court.
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This order of the apex court comes after a range of serious allegations were made against the local body polls in Punjab. Then, the High Court held the elections in the Patiala Municipal Corporation as valid. However, a number of candidates who allegedly faced the impediments on ground, moved to the Supreme Court, thereby prompting an inquiry by the Nirmaljit Kaur Commission.
(OG/AR)
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