The Supreme Court has ordered fresh elections in 28 wards of the Patiala Municipal Corporation and 22 wards of the Baghapurana and Dharamkot municipal councils, putting in place an extensive judicial monitoring mechanism to ensure that the re-election process is free, fair and transparent.The order follows a prolonged legal battle arising from the December 2024 municipal elections, during which several candidates of these civic bodies alleged that members of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, police personnel and others prevented them from filing nomination papers.The petitioners alleged that candidates were physically assaulted, their clothes were torn and nomination papers were snatched during the filing process. They also alleged that the nomination process was not videographed despite directions issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Questions were also raised over the subsequent election of office-bearers, including the Mayor and Senior Deputy Mayor of the Patiala civic body.The Supreme Court had earlier appointed a fact-finding commission headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Justice Nirmaljit Kaur to examine the allegations. The court has now placed on record its appreciation for the former judge, saying her detailed examination of oral, documentary and video evidence had greatly assisted it in resolving the disputes.Under the latest directions, the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has been requested to constitute, within a week, a Monitoring Committee headed by a retired High Court judge. The re-election schedule will be notified only after the committee is constituted by the high court.The High Court Chief Justice has also been requested to nominate at least two or three senior members of the Bar as observers. The filing and scrutiny of nomination papers, allocation of symbols and polling will be videographed in their presence, with the recordings to be preserved and handed over to the Monitoring Committee.The Punjab Government will have to furnish the committee with ward-wise details of officials deployed on election duty, besides the list of police officers of DSP rank and above deployed for the elections.The court has also provided a mechanism for complaints of interference or obstruction. Such complaints can be submitted to the Monitoring Committee, which will enquire into them and, if it finds substance, report the matter to the Chief Justice of the High Court for appropriate judicial action.In a significant safeguard, the election results will not be declared immediately after completion of the process. The Monitoring Committee will submit a report to the Chief Justice, and the re-election will be treated as complete only after the Chief Justice is satisfied that it was conducted in a free and fair manner.The entire re-election process has to be completed within six weeks, the apex court ordered.The Supreme Court has clarified that the directions have been issued in view of the peculiar facts of these cases and will not constitute a precedent for future by-elections.The allegations that form the basis of the litigation remain subject to judicial scrutiny and fact-finding proceedings, and the court’s directions should not be construed as a determination of criminal liability or personal culpability against any specific official or political figure.In Patiala, fresh elections will be conducted in ward numbers — 1, 4, 6, 12, 14, 16, 22, 26, 28, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55 and 57 where the fact finding judicial commission found the election process was vitiated because opposition candidates were prevented from filing nominations and forcibly excluded from contesting the polls. In Dharamkot Municipal Council the fresh elections will be conducted in ward numbers- 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9 and 13 while in Baghapurana Municipal Council all 15 wards will undergo fresh polls.