HYDERABAD: In a breather to the government and the state Election Commission, the Hyderabad High Court on Thursday refused to postpone or cancel the election to the Kakinada Municipal Corporation.
While admitting petitions filed challenging the GO issued by the AP government notifying 48 wards in the Kakinada Municipal Corporation and the consequent notification issued by the State Election Commission to conduct election to the civic body, Justice P Naveen Rao said the poll would not be stayed.
Petitioners Medisetty Eswara Rao, Tadi Bhavani Prasad and T William Harry, residents of Kakinada in East Godavari district, filed petitions separately challenging the election.
William Harry’s counsel pointed out that the AP government had not reallocated reservations to municipal corporations in the state based on caste-wise population after the bifurcation of the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh. The state government notified the reservation of wards based on GO Ms No 94 which was issued post bifurcation of the state. The counsel contended that as per Section 101 of the AP Reorganisation Act 2014, the government should have adopted Acts and GOs which were in existence in the combined state within two years, but without doing so, the government had reserved wards as per the old GO illegally.
The counsels for Eswara Rao and Prasad submitted that the law mandates that a minimum of 50 wards participate in municipal corporation polls and to escape from contempt proceedings, authorities had fixed boundaries in a hurried manner in violation of the law. After hearing both sides, the judge dismissed the miscellaneous petitions saying that the court could not intervene once notification was issued. The judge held that the election process shall go on as per schedule.
Too late
Govt counsel contended pleas were invalid after issuance of notification. Constitution, bars proceedings challenging delimitation etc post notification.