The Gujarat High Court Wednesday held as “illegal” the postponement of local body elections by the poll panel and declared the two ordinances put out by the state government in this regard as “unconstitutional”. The court also did not find merit in the government’s argument that a “caste war” like situation prevailed in the state. It said: “The impossibility of election would mean on account of the circumstances beyond the control of human being i.e. like act of God. Some aberration like that of agitation or some aberration in the disturbances of law and order situation cannot be equated with the necessary concomitant to meet with the test of impossibility to hold the election.” A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Jayant Patel and Justice N V Anjaria held that the ordinances were not in the spirit of holding elections in time and deserved to be set aside. It also pulled up the State Election Commission (SEC) for not abiding by the Constitution despite being a constitutional body. The SEC, which earlier had announced to postpone the elections by three months, last Friday told the High Court that the schedule of panchayats, municipalities and municipal corporations elections would be announced by November 16. Virendra Vaghela, vice-president of Gandhinagar district panchayat, and Jagdish Bhatt, resident of Umrala taluka panchayat in Bhavnagar, had moved the HC through their advocate and Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil after the SEC on October 4 announced postponement of the polls citing poor law and order situation due to the Patel quota agitation. The petitioners had sought to declare the provisions of Clause (3) of Ordinance No.2 of 2015 promulgated by the Governor as ultra vires Article 243E of the Constitution, and later added in their petitions for declaring Clauses (3), (4) and (5) of Ordinance No.3 of 2015 as ultra vires Article 243E and Article 243U(3) of the Constitution. The ordinance amending section 7(a) of Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporation Act, 8(A) of Municipality Act and 257 of Panchayat Act “is unconstitutional and void and hence quashed and set aside,” the bench said. These amendments by the state government through the ordinance were brought in order to appoint administrators who would take over local bodies in absence of elections in time. The court held that “the concept of appointment of administrator is unknown to the Constitution” and it would be against the “spirit of Constitution”. The local body polls to 253 municipalities, 208 taluka panchayats, 26 district panchayats and six municipal corporations were expected to be held in October. The five-year term of these bodies expires in October-November. The order said if the SEC fails to initiate the process for elections 45 days in advance, citizen would have liberty to approach the court. After pronouncement of the order, Advocate General Kamal Trivedi and counsel for the poll panel Mihir Thakore requested stay on the order, but the court rejected it.
