HC pauses nomination process for LB polls in Puducherry

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Monday directed the Puducherry Election authorities to stop receipt of nomination papers from the candidates until the UT administration responds to the Election Commission’s advice to defer the elections citing anomalies in the reservation of seats for SCs, BCs and women.

The First Bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu held that “the process of nomination which has been undergoing should be kept in abeyance.”

Additional Solicitor General R Shankaranarayanan submitted that the local body elections for the UT administration shall be deferred until the anomalies in the reservation of wards for scheduled castes, backward castes and women are corrected.

“We have advised the UT administration to defer the elections until the anomalies in reserving wards for SCs, BCs, and women are fixed. We are waiting for the response of the highest decision-making authority too. We will submit the outcome once the highest decision-making authority takes a call,” the ASG mentioned before the Judges.

After hearing the submission by the Additional Solicitor General, the bench posted the matter to October 5.

“It is expected that the decision-making authority to decide on the UT civic polls. Let the matter be heard by October 5 by 4 30 pm,” the bench noted.

Puducherry is going for local body elections in three phases from October 21. Even as the filings of nominations have started, the HC’s direction of stopping the nomination and the Election Commission’s advice to defer elections have raised questions about whether elections would be conducted or not as per the provided schedule.

Puducherry legislators J Pragesh Kumar and N Perianan approached the HC against the reservation of wards for SCs, OBCs, and women. They challenged the UT election commission’s notification that came on August 23.