Ranchi, August 1 (HS). The Jharkhand High Court today heard the appeal (LPA) of the state government to quash the order of a single bench of the High Court dated January 4, 2024 to issue notification for local body elections in the state within three weeks.
On Thursday, the state government told the court that the error in the petition has been removed. Earlier, advocate Vinod Kumar Singh told the court on behalf of the respondent that this case should be heard on merit, the state government is postponing the civic elections on the pretext of triple test, this is a failure of constitutional mission. Not holding and stopping the elections on time is like suppressing the democratic system. The order of the single bench is correct. The court has fixed August 8 for detailed hearing of the case.
The division bench had earlier refused to stay the order passed by the single bench. In the case, former councilor Roshni Khalkho and others had filed a caveat in the High Court and requested for an early hearing on the appeal of the state government. An intervention petition (IA) was filed on behalf of the government and an immediate stay was requested on the order of the single bench.
In the appeal (LPA), the state government has said that the Backward Commission has been appointed as a dedicated commission. It will assess the population of OBCs in the districts of the state and provide data in this regard to the state government. On this basis, reservation will be given to OBCs in the wards in the civic elections. Therefore, time should be given to complete the civic elections. The state government has requested the High Court to immediately stay the order of the single bench and cancel the order of the single bench. In the appeal, the state government has justified the appointment of an administrator in the Municipal Corporation citing the provision of the Jharkhand Municipal Act.
The High Court Justice Anand Sen had accepted the petition of former councilor Roshni Khalkho and others for holding the municipal elections in the state soon. The court had directed the state government to issue a notification for municipal elections in Jharkhand within three weeks. The court had said in its order that not holding municipal elections is a failure of the constitutional system.