The Karnataka High Court on Friday issued notice to the State seeking its response to a petition by the residents of Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura Assembly constituency, who have challenged its division between the east and south city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority following a September 2 zonal classification notification. The matter was heard by a division bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Poonacha. The petition calls for the notification to be quashed as far as it pertains to the division of the Mahadevapura constituency between the two corporations. It also seeks a court order to reclassify certain villages and areas into the east zone, and to establish a committee to reassess Bengaluru’s zonal bodies and correct any anomalies. In the interim, the petition calls for the zonal notification to be restrained from implementation, as far as Mahadevapura is concerned. The petition highlights the fact that Bellandur Ward 150 has been split between the two corporations, including Haralur, Ambalipura, parts of Kaikondrahalli, Kasavanahalli, Bhovi Colony, Junnasandra, and parts of Doddakannalli. It contends that the division, which it describes as arbitrary, would cause administrative issues through problems such as multiple zonal offices and disruption of the previous administrative network. The petition also raised the potential of electoral issues, arguing that splitting the areas in this manner could cause issues with voter roll accuracy, as well as the logistics of conducting elections. The petition also states that the split would have a negative impact on political accountability, as a single Assembly constituency would have to deal with multiple political and administrative structures. It also argues that there has been a violation of Section 26(3) of the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, as part of the section states, “as far as possible an Assembly Constituency shall not be divided into two or more City Corporations while adding or removing any area”. The matter is set to be heard further on December 17.
