Madras High Court Dismisses Plea Against Reserving More Wards For Women In Municipal Corporation Elections

Madras High Court has dismissed as withdrawn a public interest litigation filed by Advocate R. Parthiban challenging the number of seats allotted to Women candidates in urban body elections by Greater Chennai Municipal Corporation. The matter is inextricably connected to a May 2019 notification issued by the Chennai Corporation, reserving 89 wards out of 200 wards for Women Candidates and another 16 seats for the Scheduled Caste Women, bringing the total tally to 105. The Corporation Election is slated to be held in the coming months. Today, when the matter was being heard, the bench of Acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice P.D Audikesavalu noted that the Tamil Nadu Municipalities (Amendment) Act, 2016 and the Chennai City Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2016 mandates 'not less than fifty per cent reservation' for women. The court observed that 'not less than one-third' in the Chennai Municipal Corporation Act, 1919 has been substituted by the same. According to the petitioner counsel Ma Gouthaman, the Gazette notification allotted 89 seats for Women Candidates (General), and 16 seats for Scheduled Caste Woman candidates, contrary to the mandated 100 seats out of 200 seats. "The reservation is put into effect on the basis of zones for Chennai Corporation, and not on the basis of total number of wards. In zones where the number of wards add upto an odd number, as far as the additional seat is concerned, it will be allotted to the woman candidate since the Act strictly prescribes 'not less than 50 per cent'. As a result, it is quite possible that in some zones, the total number of seats reserved for women would exceed the mandated minimum 50 per cent," the Court observed. The court also concurred with the arguments of the respondent counsel. "Nothing in Section 5(5) of the Amended Chennai Municipal Corporation Act, 1919 nor the pursuant notification limits the number of seats that can be reserved for women," the court observed. The court also reminded the petitioner of the scope of 'positive discrimination' for women in Article 15(3) of the Constitution when the petitioner alleged that males have been discriminated against by the said Gazette notification. The only relief that the petitioner could avail will be to challenge the Constitutional Validity of the 2016 Amendment Act since the Gazette notification is well within the bounds prescribed by the said Act, said the Division Bench. Therefore, the petitioner was allowed to withdraw the petition with the liberty to challenge the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919 and the subsequent Amendments to it.Case Title: R. Parthiban v. The Chief Secretary & OrsCase No: WP/25375/2021 (Election)Click Here To Read/ Download Order

Madras High Court Dismisses Plea Against Reserving More Wards For Women In Municipal Corporation Elections

Sebin James

The petition was dismissed as withdrawn with liberty to challenge the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919 and the subsequent Amendments.

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