PIL challenges tenure extension of Shimla mayor, deputy; HC issues notice to govt

A Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, and comprising Justice Jiya Lal Bhardwaj, directed the respondents to file their replies by the next date of hearing on November 11.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by Advocate Anjali Soni Verma, who has challenged the government decision to extend the tenure of mayors and their deputies as being in violation of Article 243(T) of the Constitution of India and Section 36 of the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation (HPMC) Act.

At the outset, the bench asked the petitioner to confirm her locus standi. In response, Verma submitted that she was an aggrieved party, as the councillors were elected by the people of Shimla when the provision mandated the election of the mayor and deputy mayor by the councillors after every two and a half years. She further submitted that the Cabinet’s decision to extend the tenure was retrospective in nature and could only be implemented after the next municipal corporation elections, scheduled for 2027. The petitioner also submitted that the extension violates the existing reservation roster, under which a Scheduled Caste woman councillor was slated to assume the mayor’s office for the next two and a half years on completion of the incumbent’s term, a general category candidate, on November 15.

“I appraised the high court that the decision to extend the tenure of mayor and deputy mayor, ignoring the roster, is a betrayal with the people of Shimla. The bench accepted my PIL and issued notices to the respondents,” Verma told The Indian Express.

The respondents include the state government through the Principal Secretary (Urban Development), the MC commissioner, state election commission, and mayor Chauhan.

The Cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu, had approved an ordinance on October 25, to extend the tenures of mayors and deputy mayors citing the need for “administrative continuity” and to prevent “horse-trading.” Even as the Opposition BJP flayed the move, the government decision triggered discontent within the Congress, which rules both the Shimla civic body and the state.

In the 2023 civic body polls, the Congress had secured 24 out of 34 wards in Shimla, the BJP had bagged nine seats while one went to CPI(M). The House also comprises five nominated members

Now, 14 Congress councillors, including women, have expressed resentment over the move.

On Monday, Sukhu held a closed-door meeting with all Congress councillors at his official residence, Oak Over. Although Sukhu made it clear that the decision would stand, he urged the councillors to work collectively for the welfare of Shimla. Sukhu also held separate discussions with the 14 dissenting Congress councillors during the meeting.

Chauhan, a three-time councillor from Chhota Shimla, is considered close to Sukhu who had twice represented the seat in the past.

Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur had said the move was aimed at avoiding the upcoming mayoral elections as the “CM knows about his own failures, is aware of the public mood and knows that even his own councillors will not support the Congress candidate for mayor’s post”.

From the homepage

5 killed as passenger train collides with goods train in Bilaspur

‘He is Bihar’s guardian… can do no wrong’: 20 years later, why Nitish still NDA’s best bet

Why a curb on Trump’s tariff powers by US top court could deliver $500 mn refund, & possibly a fairer trade deal for India