HC CLEARS DECK FOR MC POLLS IN HARYANA

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday disposed of pleas against municipal corporation polls in Haryana, paving way for elections to civic bodies.

The elections, if conducted immediately, will have to be conducted without reservation of seats to the backward classes’ category.

As per government counsels, additional advocates general Ankur Mittal and Deepak Balyan, the petitions have been disposed of asking the state election commission to conduct polls as per the Supreme Court judgment in Suresh Mahajan’s case delivered on May 10. A detailed judgment is awaited.

The petitioners in this case had demanded quashing of Rule 70A of the Haryana Municipal Election (Amendment) Rules, 2020 arguing that it seeks to reserve the number of offices of president for BCS, which is in violation of the SC judgments. In the interim, they had demanded that election be stayed.

During the hearing on Tuesday, the court was informed of May 10 judgment in which the apex court has issued certain directions to all the state election commissions.

In its May 10 judgment, the apex court has directed all state election commissions to ensure reservation to backward classes be given after triple test laid down for such reservation.

“No reservation for the OBCS can be provisioned until the triple test exercise mentioned in a 2010 Constitution bench verdict is completed in all respects,” the bench of justices AM Khanwilkar, AS Oka, and CT Ravi Kumar had said.