Breaking: Supreme Court orders fresh polls in 50 Punjab Municipal wards, sets judicial monitoring mechanism
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, October 7, 2026: The Supreme Court has ordered fresh elections in 50 municipal wards in Punjab, including 28 wards of the Patiala Municipal Corporation and 22 wards of the Baghapurana and Dharamkot municipal councils, following findings of obstruction and violence during the nomination process in the 2024 civic polls.
The order was passed in Seema Sharma & Others vs State of Punjab & Others, SLP© No. 3894/2025, and connected matters. The Supreme Court had earlier appointed a fact-finding commission headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Justice Nirmaljit Kaur (Retd.) to examine the allegations.
The commission examined allegations that candidates were prevented from filing nomination papers through alleged assault, intimidation and obstruction. Its findings formed the basis for the directions for fresh elections in the affected wards.
The Supreme Court has also put in place a judicial monitoring mechanism for the re-election process to ensure that the polls are conducted in a free and fair manner. The mechanism includes monitoring by a retired High Court judge to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The election process, including nomination filing, scrutiny, allocation of election symbols and polling, will be videographed in the presence of observers nominated from among senior members of the High Court Bar.
The court has also directed that complaints regarding interference in the election process be placed before the monitoring committee. Where such complaints are found to have substance, the committee will report the matter to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for appropriate action.
The results of the fresh elections will be declared only after the Chief Justice of the High Court is satisfied that the polling process has been conducted in a free and fair manner. The Punjab government will bear the expenses of the re-election process and provide the required logistical, administrative, transport and security support.
The Supreme Court’s directions follow its earlier fact-finding exercise into the December 2024 municipal elections in Patiala, Baghapurana and Dharamkot. The State government had accepted the commission’s findings.
The Supreme Court has clarified that the directions have been issued in view of the peculiar facts of the cases and will not be treated as a precedent for future by-elections.