CJ scraps single-bench HC order on delimitation

The Uttarakhand High Court today scrapped an order passed by a single-judge bench of the court, nullifying the exercise of delimitation of municipal bodies conducted by the state government.

Hearing a special appeal filed by the state government, challenging the revocation of the government orders (GOs) on delimitation of the municipal bodies, a division bench of Chief Justice K M Joseph and Justice Sharad Sharma scrapped the single-bench order and revived the GOs.

With this, the delimitation of the municipal bodies becomes effective once again, paving the way for civic body polls in the state.

The court rejected the ground on which the bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia had based its May 14 order, rendering all the GOs related to delimitation of municipal limits as illegal.

Justice Dhulia's ground for declaring the GOs illegal was that those had not been routed through the governor.

Citing Article 166 of the Constitution, the division bench said all executive actions of the state government should be expressed to be taken in the name of the governor.