Archive · 13 Dec 2025
Punjab High Court Criticizes Election Commission
The Punjab High Court is not happy with how the state election commission handled the local body elections.
They found an audio clip where a police officer named Patiala SSP Varun Sharma was telling others to stop people from filing their papers to run in the elections.
The court said this was not fair and the commission should have checked the audio with a neutral group and removed the officer from duty.
Even after the controversy, Patiala saw the most candidates in the fray for the elections.
The court is now watching the government closely to make sure they do things fairly.
Punjab High Court criticized the state election commission for alleged bias in local body elections.
An audio clip implicated Patiala SSP Varun Sharma in preventing opposition candidates from filing nominations.
The court ordered the election commission to use a neutral agency for verifying evidence and remove Sharma from election duty.
Patiala saw the maximum number of candidates in the fray for the Zila Parishad elections, with 113 candidates.
The opposition parties alleged that the ruling party government prevented their candidates from filing nomination papers.
- Who
- Punjab High Court, Punjab Election Commission, Patiala SSP Varun Sharma, Opposition Parties, Ruling Party Government
- What
- Punjab High Court criticizes the state election commission for alleged bias in local body elections and orders the use of a neutral agency for verifying evidence.
- When
- December 14 (elections), December 12 (detention)
- Where
- Punjab, India
- Why
- Alleged lapses in election neutrality and politically motivated detention
Opposition Parties
Ruling Party Government
Alleged Election Interference
Opposition Parties
Opposition parties allege that the ruling party government prevented their candidates from filing nomination papers.
Ruling Party Government
The ruling party government denies these allegations and maintains that the election process was fair.
- Date of Local Body Elections
- December 14
- Controversial Audio Clip Involving
- Patiala SSP Varun Sharma
- Number of Candidates in Patiala
- 113
- Number of Candidates in Ludhiana
- 97
- Number of Candidates in Jalandhar
- 83
- Number of Candidates in Sangrur
- 80
- Number of Candidates in Hoshiarpur
- 80
- Number of Candidates in Amritsar
- 65
- Number of Candidates in Barnala
- 35
- Number of Candidates in Bathinda
- 63
Sources
Illegal Detention, Local Bodies Polls: Court Setbacks For Punjab Government
SAD cries ‘anarchy’ as cops detain gangster-turned-politician Gurpreet Sekhon ahead of rural polls
Week after audio row, Patiala sees maximum candidates in fray in Zila Parishads
Punjab Congress leader Bajwa slams SEC for ‘inaction’ over ‘misuse’ of govt machinery
