SC sets aside polls in 50 Punjab wards

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has ordered fresh elections in 50 municipal wards in Punjab after a fact-finding commission found "widespread obstruction during the nomination process" in the local body polls.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana set aside elections in 50 wards: 28 in Patiala district and 22 in Moga. The top court passed the order after accepting the findings of a one-member commission headed by former high court judge Nirmaljit Kaur.

The local body elections took place on December 21, 2024. The commission was appointed on March 24, 2025, and it submitted its report on November 18, 2025. "The principal finding of the Commission is of widespread obstruction during the nomination process, whereby nomination papers were snatched, torn or destroyed, and candidates were assaulted, detained or threatened.

"We accept the recommendations and direct that fresh elections be conducted in the relevant 50 wards. The entire process of re-election shall be completed within six weeks," the bench said in the September 28 order which was uploaded last night. The apex court noted the submission of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Punjab government, that the state has no objection to the commission's recommendations. The top court asked the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to nominate at least two or three senior members of the high court bar to act as 'Observers' in the re-election process.

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