Click the Play button to listen to article

The Calcutta High Court vacation bench has restrained the West Bengal State Election Commission from proceeding with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections until a pending challenge to the delimitation of municipal wards is finally decided.

The Division Bench modified an earlier order of the single judge, which had declined to stay the election process despite a challenge to the State government's decision to increase the number of KMC wards from 144 to 209.

With the latest order, the civic body elections stand deferred until the single judge adjudicates the challenge to the delimitation exercise.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Justice Arjun Roy Mukherjee passed the order while hearing an appeal challenging the single judge's refusal to grant interim relief.

Senior Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the delimitation notification had been issued on the basis of the recommendation of Smita Pandey, who had been appointed Administrator of the KMC after the elected Corporation ceased to function.

He contended that the Administrator was merely an employee of the Corporation and that her advice to the State Government could not be treated as the recommendation of the elected Corporation. The petitioners argued that the exercise amounted to gerrymandering, which had been held to be impermissible by the Supreme Court.

The State, represented by Advocate General Surajit Nath Mitra, opposed the plea. It argued that the State Government was empowered to undertake the delimitation exercise even in the absence of a recommendation from the Corporation. The State also questioned the timing of the challenge, pointing out that the delimitation notification had been issued in September and that the petitioners had approached the Court at the last minute.

The petitioners had further alleged that the delimitation exercise amounted to gerrymandering, contending that ward boundaries had been redrawn to confer an electoral advantage on a particular political party.

The State, however, maintained that the Administrator had been vested with the powers of the Corporation and that the State was competent to proceed with delimitation in the absence of an elected municipal council.

Background

The challenge arose from the West Bengal Government's decision to increase the number of KMC wards from 144 to 209 ahead of the upcoming municipal elections.

The delimitation notification was issued on September 11. The petitioners questioned its legality, arguing that the exercise had been undertaken without a valid recommendation from the elected Corporation.

A single judge of the High Court had earlier refused to grant interim relief against the delimitation exercise, prompting the petitioners to approach the Division Bench.

The Division Bench has now modified that order, preventing the State Election Commission from calling the KMC elections until the single judge finally decides the pending challenge to the delimitation process

Tags: