Haryana to go ahead with civic body elections as scheduled

Haryana will go ahead with urban local bodies elections as scheduled, as the Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed the Punjab and Haryana High Court order asking the State Election Commission to invite fresh objections against deletion of names from electoral rolls and reschedule of the date of filing nomination papers.

With the high court order stayed, the elections to 15 municipal councils and 28 municipal committees will now take place as scheduled on May 22.

The vacation bench of Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre and Justice Ashok Bhushan stayed the operation of May 12 high court order after Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that election process has already on and voting was to take place on May 22. It also issued notice to Suman Lata, on whose petition the high court order came.

The high court had asked the State Election Commission and the principal secretary, urban and local bodies department and the deputy commissioner, Kurukshetra "to invite a fresh objections against deletion of names from the electoral rolls by giving one day opportunity to the affected voters and thereafter re-schedule the election programme including the date for filing nominations papers so as to enable the affected persons including the petitioners to file nominations, if so desired".

However, it had said that "authorities shall be at liberty to hold the election as per the final date of election already notified".

The Haryana State Election Commission has contended the high court order was contradictory as on one hand, it directs inviting fresh objections against deletion of names and on the other, allows the authorities to hold elections as per the dates already notified.

Suman Lata, a resident of Kurukshetra, wanted to contest the election for urban local body but found that her name was deleted from the electoral roll.

Claiming that she had voted in the last assembly elections, she made a representation to deputy commissioner, Kurukshetra for inclusion of her name in the voters list so that she could file her nomination papers. But her request was rejected and she then moved the high court.

--IANS

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