The Madras High Court on Tuesday granted permission to the Puducherry State Election Commission to withdraw its earlier notification issued in September, which announced the schedule for the local body elections in the Union Territory, originally slated for this month. When a batch of three PIL petitions on the issue came up today, the Additional-Solicitor General told the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu that the notification rescinding the earlier notifications dated March 7, 2019 pertaining to reservation, will be issued by October 7.
As a consequence, the State Election Commission prayed for permission to withdraw the municipal elections notification dated September 22. “Since the State Election Commission seeks permission to issue a fresh election notification in the above circumstances, such permission is granted so that the fresh notification is published within five days of the formal rescinding of the previous notification of September 22,” the bench said.
The fresh notification shall be issued calling for the election of Municipalities, Commune Panchayats and Village Panchayats by providing for reservation and by treating the present election as the first for the purpose of the rotation principles as recognised in Section 9(5) of the Puducherry Municipalities Act, 1973 and Rule 9 of the Puducherry Municipalities (Allotment and Rotation of Reserved Seats and Office) Rules, 1996, the bench added.
The bench hoped that the anomalies would now be removed and the proposed notification would carry no mistake, so that the elections can be held as expeditiously as possible, subject to the minimum time being maintained between the issuance of the notification, the last date for filing nominations and the conduct of the elections.
The three petitions from Muthialpet independent MLA S Prejesh Kumar and two others pointed out the anomalies in the selection of wards reserved for SCs, BCs and women for the municipal elections in the Union Territory of Puducherry. All the three petitions were disposed off today.
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