HC sets aside reservation of seats in South Dumdum

The Calcutta High Court on Monday set aside reservation of seats in the South Dumdum Municipality and ordered that it be prepared afresh.

The order came on a petition claiming that the list of reserved wards was prepared in contravention to West Bengal municipal laws.

Setting aside the reservation list of seats in South Dumdum Municipality, Justice Arindam Sinha directed the State Election Commission to prepare a fresh list as per the municipal laws.

With the South Dumdum Municipality set to go for elections this year along with many other civic bodies in the state, the commission had prepared a list of reserved seats.

Finding that ward number 29, which was reserved for women in the last election, having been in the same category this year also, a resident of the ward moved the high court.

Petitioner Arup Dey claimed that he intends to fight the elections this year, but the reservation prevents him from doing so.

His lawyer Anindya Lahiri told the high court that according to the municipal laws, a ward cannot be reserved for women for two consecutive terms.

The commission's lawyer claimed that the reservation was done in accordance with the law.

Hearing both the parties, the court set aside the prepared list and directed the West Bengal State Election Commission, which holds the elections to the civic bodies, to prepare the list afresh.