What Is Article 142, Invoked By SC To Set Aside Chandigarh Poll Results?

The Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the result of the Chandigarh mayoral poll in which the BJP candidate had emerged an unlikely winner, and declared defeated AAP-Congress alliance candidate Kuldeep Kumar as the new city mayor.

The apex court also ordered the prosecution of the returning officer for the poll, Anil Masih for his "misdemeanour", after finding serious faults in the conduct of the January 30 election.

Headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, the apex court refrained from mandating a new election for the position. Instead, it utilized its special authority under Article 142 of the Constitution to validate eight previously invalidated ballot papers, as held by the presiding officer. Subsequently, the court conducted a recount of the votes, ultimately ruling in favour of Kumar.

The bench said: "This Court is duty bound, particularly in the context of Article 142 to do complete justice to ensure that the process of electoral democracy is not allowed to be thwarted by such subterfuge. By allowing such a step to take place would be disruptive of the most valued principles in the edifice of democracy in our country depends. We are therefore of the view that the Court must step in such exceptional circumstances to ensure that the basic mandate of electoral democracy albeit at the local participatory level is preserved."

What is Article 142?

Article 142 empowers the Supreme Court to issue any order deemed necessary for achieving "complete justice" in any given case. This provision diverges from the conventional principle of equity that governs the legal system, rendering it a distinctive inclusion.

While dispensing relief, the Supreme Court has the discretion to depart from strict adherence to legal principles, taking into account the unique circumstances of each case. It grants the court the ability to ensure complete justice when deemed necessary.

It states: "The Supreme Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction may pass such decree or make such order as is necessary for doing complete justice in any cause or matter pending before it, and any decree so passed or order so made shall be enforceable throughout the territory of India in such manner as may be prescribed by or under any law made by Parliament and, until provision in that behalf is so made, in such manner as the President may by order prescribe."

However, this isn't the first significant instance where the Supreme Court has utilized this constitutional provision. In fact, it was invoked in the Babri Masjid demolition case involving senior BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi as well, to transfer the criminal trial from Rae Bareli to Lucknow.

In its 2017 ruling, the court observed that the case had lingered for 25 years, denouncing it as a "delay in justice."

However, despite its broad applicability, the Supreme Court clarified in a ruling in 2023 that Article 142 is not universally applicable and cannot be invoked in all cases.