In an unprecedented decision, the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday reversed the decision of a Returning Officer (RO) which declared votes invalid in the Chandigarh Mayoral election, Hindustan Times reported.

The court ruled that eight ballots that were invalidated by RO should also be counted and the result should be declared by recounting.

It is pertinent to mention that the ruling party Bharatiya Janata Party was declared winner in the mayoral election. However, controversy marred the election after it was reported that the RO had rejected eight votes that were polled in favour of the Aam Admi Party (APP)-Congress combines mayor candidate Kuldeep Kumar.

While Kumar was the front-runner to become the next mayor, the rejected eight votes altered the results of the election, and the BJP’s Manoj Sonkar was declared the winner.

The election saw Sonkar securing 16 votes while AAP’s Kumar ended up with 12 votes after eight ballots were declared invalid by the RO.

During the hearing, the Indian apex directed the authorities to take action against RO Anil Masih after he confessed to defacing the ballots.