HC directs Pondy EC to notify polls with updated data

The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam, said, "..If the increase in population is not considered, it would result in grave prejudice and it would virtually defeat the very purpose of conducting elections for the civic bodies" .

It directed the government to immediately take steps to obtain the approved census of 2011, preferably within two months from today.

The government shall carry out the delimitation of municipal wards and village wards in the UT and reservation for backward classes, after which it shall be forwarded to the State Election Commissioner, Puducherry, the bench said.

The Puducherry SEC shall proceed to notify polls to civic bodies, it said, adding, the election process shall be completed within three months from the date of receipt of delimitation notification from the government of Puducherry.

To a submission that the latest electoral roll does not have any adherence to the delimitation boundaries, the bench said, "If that be so, any election conducted based on the 1991 census or earlier notifications, would at best be an election on paper and would not reflect true opinion of the electorate."

A PIL had prayed for a direction to Chief Secretary, Local Administration Secretary and State Election Commissioner Puducherry, to carry out all necessary delimitation of constituencies and to meet legal statutory requirements before conducting the local body polls.

It sought to set aside a September 27 notification of Puducherry State Election Commissioner publishing a list of numbers, names and reserved seats allotted to Municipalities and Commune Panchayats as a run up to local body polls.