Story perspectives

Supreme Court Orders Fresh Polls in 50 Punjab Wards

By Drooid · Oct 8, 2026, 10:06 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Surya Kant Orders Repoll

Justice Surya Kant’s bench ordered fresh polls in 50 Punjab wards, deeming elections vitiated.
Order applies to 28 Patiala and 22 Moga wards, to be completed within six weeks.
Retired Justice Nirmaljit Kaur’s commission submitted its report on Nov 18 2025.
Monitoring Committee headed by a retired high-court judge will oversee nominations, scrutiny, symbol allocation, polling.
All election stages must be videographed and recordings sent to the committee; bar members will observe.

Summary

Punjab Government Seeks Halt

Punjab government petitioned the Supreme Court to halt a CBI probe of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s office.
Supreme Court deferred the hearing to October 9 because the case file arrived late.
Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the CBI to register an FIR and submit a report within two months.
CBI filed a 251-page FIR naming OSD Rajbir Ghuman, intermediary Nitin Gohal and five co-accused, then raided Ghuman’s residences.

History

Historical Context

India’s Constitution created autonomous State Election Commissions (Articles 243K, 243ZA, 324) that can order repolls, a power the Supreme Court affirmed in its 2019 VVPAT judgment. Drawing on that framework, a Punjab Supreme Court bench in 2024 ordered fresh voting in 50 municipal wards and required video recording, mirroring earlier judicial actions to protect local elections.

1 of 3

Surya Kant Orders Repoll

Justice Surya Kant’s bench ordered fresh polls in 50 Punjab wards, deeming elections vitiated.
Order applies to 28 Patiala and 22 Moga wards, to be completed within six weeks.
Retired Justice Nirmaljit Kaur’s commission submitted its report on Nov 18 2025.
Monitoring Committee headed by a retired high-court judge will oversee nominations, scrutiny, symbol allocation, polling.
All election stages must be videographed and recordings sent to the committee; bar members will observe.

1 / 3