Chandigarh, October 7, 2026: In a significant development concerning Punjab's municipal elections, the Supreme Court has directed that fresh elections be conducted in 50 wards across Patiala and Moga districts after considering findings of a court-appointed fact-finding commission regarding the conduct of the December 2024 civic polls.
The affected seats include 28 wards of the Patiala Municipal Corporation, all 15 wards of the Baghapurana Municipal Council in Moga district and seven wards of the Dharamkot Municipal Council. The direction means voters in these wards will get another opportunity to elect their municipal representatives once the fresh election schedule is notified by the competent authorities.
The matter arose from petitions challenging the conduct of municipal elections in Patiala, Baghapurana and Dharamkot. Petitioners had raised allegations that violence and disruption during the election process prevented several candidates from freely participating, particularly during the filing of nomination papers.
A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana, considered the findings placed before it by a fact-finding commission headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Justice Nirmaljit Kaur.
The commission had been constituted by the Supreme Court in March 2025 to examine allegations surrounding the municipal election process. During its inquiry, the panel considered material relating to alleged obstruction of candidates, disturbances during nominations and other complaints concerning the fairness of the electoral process in the affected civic bodies.
According to the findings placed before the court, the election process was found to have been affected in 28 wards of the Patiala Municipal Corporation. The report also examined specific allegations involving voting irregularities in some Patiala wards, including concerns over alleged bogus and duplicate voting.
In Moga district, irregularities were found in seven wards of the Dharamkot Municipal Council. The commission also found problems affecting the election process across all 15 wards of the Baghapurana Municipal Council, bringing the total number of wards covered by the fresh-election direction to 50.
During the Supreme Court proceedings, the Punjab government indicated that it did not object to implementing the recommendations of the fact-finding commission. The apex court consequently directed that fresh polls be conducted in the wards where the electoral process had been found to be affected.
The decision does not mean that elections across all municipal bodies in Punjab are being cancelled. The order is limited to the identified wards of Patiala Municipal Corporation and the municipal councils of Baghapurana and Dharamkot that were examined in connection with the petitions before the court.
The development has an immediate impact on the functioning of the affected civic bodies. In Patiala, meetings of the Municipal Corporation's General House and Finance and Contracts Committee have already been kept on hold while authorities await clarity regarding implementation of the Supreme Court's detailed directions.
Fresh elections will require the State Election Commission and other authorities to complete the necessary administrative process, including issuing a schedule, making polling arrangements and ensuring appropriate security at nomination and polling stages.
The Supreme Court's intervention places particular emphasis on maintaining the integrity of the electoral process and ensuring that candidates are able to contest without unlawful obstruction. The court's consideration of the fact-finding report followed prolonged litigation over allegations surrounding the December 2024 municipal elections.
Once the fresh election programme is formally notified, candidates in the affected wards will be able to enter the contest under the schedule and conditions announced by the election authorities. The results of the new polls will determine representation in the 50 municipal wards covered by the Supreme Court's direction.
The case is likely to remain closely watched in Punjab because the fresh polls involve a substantial number of municipal seats across two districts and follow judicial scrutiny of the manner in which the earlier election process was conducted.
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