Breaking: HC stays Kapurthala Mayor poll, orders video forensic probe
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, July 14, 2026: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday stayed the election of the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Kapurthala Municipal Corporation held on July 8, and ordered a forensic examination of the video recording of the election proceedings.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Deepak Sibal and Justice Rupinder Chahal passed the interim order while hearing petitions challenging the legality of the civic body's first meeting and the election process.
Pending further orders, the court directed the Deputy Commissioner of Kapurthala to oversee the functioning of the Municipal Corporation in place of the Mayor until the matter is decided.
During the hearing, the Punjab Government produced the complete election record and videography of the July 8 meeting, as directed earlier by the court. The Bench viewed the video recording under the supervision of the High Court Registrar before issuing its directions.
Observing the seriousness of the allegations, the High Court ordered that the entire video recording of the election proceedings be sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh, for forensic examination. The laboratory has been directed to submit its report before the court at the next hearing.
The petitions were filed by Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjit Singh and 26 elected municipal councillors, who alleged that the mayoral election was conducted in violation of the law and prescribed procedures.
According to the petitioners, 27 councillors supporting the Congress-backed mayoral candidate were seated separately from 24 councillors supporting the ruling party's candidate during the meeting. They alleged that the Municipal Commissioner addressed only the group of 24 councillors and invited councillor Anil Shukla to propose his party's candidate.
The petition further claimed that Shukla then approached the Divisional Commissioner, after which it was announced that his candidate had been elected Mayor, without giving the majority group an opportunity to nominate its candidate or cast votes.
The petitioners also alleged that no voting by show of hands took place, no vote count was conducted, and no formal result was declared, recorded or officially notified. They further contended that the officials left the venue without conducting elections for the posts of Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor.
Another allegation raised in the petitions is that although officials had ordered videography of the entire proceedings, only selected portions of the meeting were recorded.
The High Court had earlier issued notice to the Punjab Government and sought the complete record of the election. The matter will now be taken up after the CFSL submits its forensic report. Until then, the administration of the Kapurthala Municipal Corporation will remain under the supervision of the Deputy Commissioner.