HC reserves order on civic elections

■ PILs STATED that the entire pre-poll process was done by the state government in a hurried manner violating all the rules.

The Telangana High Court has reserved its verdict in the batch of PILs seeking to restrain the State Election Commission (SEC) from issuing the notification for holding of municipal elections in 126 municipalities in Telangana State.

With the completion of arguments from the petitioners, the state government and the SEC, the Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek Reddy reserved the orders.

Two public interest litigations were filed in the high court, one by K. Anju Kumar Reddy from Nirmal and another by Dr S. Malla Reddy from Medchel in Malkajgiri district, seeking stay on issuing of notification for municipal elections, stating that the entire pre-poll process has been carried out by the state government in a hurried manner, violating all the rules promulgated in the Municipalities Act.

G. Vidyasagar, senior counsel representing the State Election Commission, informed the court that the SEC is ready to hold the municipal elections after the state complies with all the lacunae raised. He submitted that the SEC requires seven days to finalise the voters' list and another 20 days to hold elections. Chinnolla Naresh Reddy, counsel for the petitioner, alleged that the SEC was hand-in-glove with the state government and had not taken into consideration the lack of pre-poll preparedness by the state government including division of wards.