Mayor by-poll on schedule despite writ pending in HC

The Director of Municipal Administration in Odisha today issued notices to all the corporators of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) to participate in the January 22 by-election to elect the new mayor of the city.
The notices were issued after it was learnt that the Orissa High Court was not inclined to interfere in the election process at this stage as the process had already begun since January 8.
"The High Court did not pass any interim order with regard to the election schedule," the State Election Commission (SEC) counsel Pitambar Acharya said.
After a preliminary hearing on a writ petition that challenged the January 8 notification of the SEC, Justice B K Nayak on the day issued notices to the respondents returnable by January 19 and posted the matter to January 20.

Terming the SEC notification as 'illegal', one person had filed a writ petition in the High Court urging it to quash the 'impugned' notification and direct the SEC to hold the by-poll to fill up the vacant corporator post ahead of the mayor by-poll.
The posts of the mayor and the corporator of Ward No. 21 have fallen vacant after BJD leader Anita Behera quit both the posts on December 29 following a public outrage over her name appearing in the beneficiaries' list to get ration card under NFSA.
"While Anita Behera's resignation created vacuums in both the posts, why is the SEC seeking by-poll to fill up the post of mayor," questioned the petitioner, who wishes to contest for the post of vacant corporator.

Urging to reject the writ, SEC counsel Pitambar Acharya argued that a casual vacancy in the post of a corporator cannot be an impediment to hold the elections for the post of mayor, process for which has already set in motion.