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HC directs state to complete process of municipal polls within 6 months
4/30/2016 10:58:42 PM

Early Times Report

Jammu, Apr 30: A high court division bench of Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur today directed state to complete the process of municipal elections within six months.
The court directive came in a petition filed by a Jammu University professor, praying for issuance of a writ of mandamus directing respondents to hold elections to municipal committees, councils and corporations as per the mandate of J&K Municipal Act, 2000, as the polls were due from 2010 itself.
Elections to the state municipal committees, councils and corporations were held after 26 years in 2005.
As per section 13 of the Act, the term of office of elected representatives is five years which ended in 2010 itself.
The petitioner submitted that since 2010, no steps had been taken to hold municipal polls in the state. Due to non-holding of elections, various grants sanctioned under 13th finance commission for the welfare of residents of the state could not be disbursed and utilised and even under 14th finance commission, grants had been earmarked for creation of various kinds of infrastructure in different municipal areas, urban local bodies. Even after the government formation in the state in 2015, no steps were taken for holding municipal polls inspite of the statutory provisions. Section 14(2) states that municipal elections should be conducted on expiry of the term of office of the previously elected memberswithin six months, he submitted.
The bench observed that the Act "mandates holding of elections to municipal committees, councils, corporations and all local bodies within six months before the expiry of office of previously elected members and this period was over. The respondents are not expected to disobey the statutory requirement.
The contention that due to non-availability of elected members, the funds allocated for various purposes to local bodies under 13th and 14th finance commissions could not be utilized as a result of which welfare activities are stalled and it is the duty of the government to conduct elections forthwith. The state election commission shall take steps to prepare electoral rolls by following due process of law, but that too should be done in a timely manner and under no circumstance, elections shall be delayed". The bench ordered that respondents would finalize the schedule of dates to conduct polls to urban local bodies within three months and complete election process for all the urban local bodies within three months therefrom. "As the date has to be fixed by the respondents taking a note of various factors, we are leaving it to the chief electoral officer, who in consultation with the appropriate authority, shall take immediate steps to announce the schedule," the bench directed. (JNF)
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