HC allows SEC to go ahead with next month's urban polls

Not inclined to postpone an election, Orissa High Court today vacated all interim stays and refused to pass any further interim order with respect to the ensuing urban local bodies (ULBs) elections due next month.
Giving liberty to State Election Commission (SEC) to go ahead with the election process so as to constitute new ULB councils before September 29, the high court admitted all the writ petitions which have challenged the quantum of reservations, erratic delimitation of wards and the logic behind holding the elections on the basis of 2001 census.
A division bench of Chief Justice C Nagappan and Justice Indrajit Mohanti after hearing 72 writ petitions also asked the state government and SEC to file detailed counter affidavits in individual petitions within six weeks.

The High Court was flooded with a large number of petitions following the publication of reservation of seats for SC, ST, OBC and women. Each petitioner challenged the methods on which these reservation list was prepared.
As an interim measure, the high court had earlier restrained the SEC from going ahead with the election process.