Bombay High Court Seeks Responses on Local Body Delimitation Challenges
The Bombay High Court has directed the State Election Commission (SEC) and the Maharashtra government to submit their responses to multiple petitions challenging the delimitation and reservation of wards for various municipal corporations across the state.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam A Ankhad heard a batch of pleas on Friday that raised significant concerns about the delimitation exercise and ward reservation process for local bodies including Thane, Vasai-Virar, and Mumbai.
Court Clarifies Election Process Can Continue
In a crucial clarification, the court emphasized that its directive seeking responses should not be interpreted as preventing election authorities and the government from proceeding with the election process for local bodies. However, the bench made it clear that all actions taken by the authorities would be subject to the final outcome of these petitions.
The court noted in its order: "We would further indicate that this order passed by this court, having taken cognizance of the writ petitions, in as much as the direction has been issued to the respondents to file the reply affidavits, shall not be construed as if the Election Commission or the state government shall not proceed with issuance of notice, preparation for conducting elections of all local bodies within the stipulated time."
Constitutional and Legal Arguments Presented
The petitioners raised several critical legal arguments during the hearing. They referenced Schedule 5 of the Constitution, arguing that the state government lacks the authority to extend the amended law to scheduled areas. Additionally, the petitioners cited a previous Supreme Court order related to delimitation exercises conducted by the SEC before March 2022 amendments.
On the opposing side, the state government strongly defended its position by referring to Supreme Court orders dated May 6 and September 16. The government emphasized that the Supreme Court had mandated the completion of local body elections in Maharashtra before January 31, 2026. With election notifications already issued for certain local bodies, the government contended that the petitions were not maintainable and should be dismissed.
The High Court acknowledged the competing arguments, stating: "Having regard to the rival submissions made on behalf of the rival parties, we are inclined to grant a short time for filing reply affidavits by the contesting respondents."
Timeline for Legal Proceedings
The court has established a tight schedule for the legal process. Respondent authorities must submit their reply affidavits by November 24, followed by rejoinders from the petitioners. The High Court has scheduled the next hearing for November 27, when it plans to conduct the final disposal of these petitions.
This development comes shortly after the High Court dismissed other election-related pleas earlier this week, including those concerning voter list transfers, objections to short timeframes for draft voter list objections, and issues regarding missing names from voter lists despite online applications.
The outcome of these petitions could significantly impact the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra, particularly concerning how wards are delimited and reservations are allocated across various municipal corporations.
