New Delhi, Dec 20 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Punjab poll panel on pleas alleging prevention of opposition candidates from BJP, Congress and SAD from filing nominations in the upcoming Patiala municipal elections by the ruling AAP.

A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale, however, refused to stay the upcoming elections, saying it would only intervene after thoroughly examining the allegations.

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The polls for Patiala Municipal Corporation are to be held on December 21 whereas 15 councillors from the ruling AAP have already been elected unopposed due to absence of opposition candidates.

With a majority mark of 31 in the 60-member House, AAP needs another 16 councillors to secure the control of the civic body.

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The bench on Friday took note of the submissions of senior advocate Vivek Tankha, appearing for some Congress candidates, and advocate Athenam Velan, representing BJP candidates, saying many candidates of opposition parties were denied the opportunity to contest elections.

"We will interfere in the final say and not in the ex-parte motion. Ultimately, if we are satisfied that there has been mischief and candidates were deliberately thwarted, we will set aside everything. Nobody can stop us on that," the bench said.

Tankha, appearing for Congress candidates, elaborated on the alleged malpractices, saying 27 of the 60 Congress candidates were either denied access to nomination centers or had their nomination papers destroyed.

He said the Election Commission declined to intervene, citing the commencement of the election process, despite its broad constitutional powers.

"This is a case of complete election fraud. Opposition candidates faced physical obstruction, illegal detentions, and intimidation during the nomination period. Political parties from across the spectrum are united in challenging these malpractices," he said.

The petitioners alleged that between December 9 and December 12, state machinery was used to prevent opposition candidates from filing nominations.

Specific instances include the illegal detention of a BJP candidate on December 12, reportedly to bar him from filing his papers.

They claimed of the 60 wards, only 31 candidates managed to submit nominations while others faced deliberate obstruction and violence, often in the presence of police.

The plea in the apex court challenged the December 13, 2024, order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Aggrieved candidates had moved the high court seeking directions to the state and election commission to ensure fair electoral participation but the HC directed the authorities to decide on the nominations lawfully and deploy adequate security at polling booths.

The top court on Friday directed all parties to file their responses and posted the hearing on February 19, 2025.

The top court on November 18 said it was "very strange" that 3,000 out of 13,000 panchayat office bearers were elected unopposed in recently held polls in Punjab and permitted aggrieved candidates to file election petitions.

CJI Sanjiv Khanna-led bench, while hearing a separate petition relating to the panchayat polls, had said the aggrieved persons could file election petitions before the election tribunal which would decide them in six months.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)