The Supreme Court today expressed reservations over Delhi’s Lieutenant General (LG) VK Saxena’s interference in an election process for the appointment of the sixth member of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) standing committee.
A BJP candidate had eventually been elected to the post after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress boycotted the September 27 election to protest the LG’s actions. Subsequently, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi proceeded to challenge the election before the Supreme Court.
A Bench comprising Justice PS Narasimha and Justice R Mahadevan issued notice in the matter today while questioning the LG’s actions, including the haste with which he ordered the conduct of the elections.
During the hearing today, the court remarked that they have some serious apprehensions about whether the exercise of LG’s power was valid, adding that there was some politics in his interference too. It stated that as far as Section 487 of Delhi Municipal Corporation Act is concerned, they will examine the tearing hurry in holding the election in two days.
Underlining that Mayor is to preside over standing committee elections, the court asked where did the LG get all this power under 487? The Court further proceeded to issue notice in the matter and adjourned the case by two weeks.
The top court also verbally directed that further elections for the post of chairperson should not be held in the meantime.. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi with Advocate Prateek Chadha appeared for Oberoi.
Appearing for the LG, Senior Advocates Sanjay Jain and Garima Prashad opposed the plea, mentioning that Oberoi should have filed an election petition if she wished to challenge the election.
Notably, the MCD elections for the sixth member of the MCD standing committee were initially adjourned on September 26 till October 5. Nonetheless, the LG is said to have invoked extraordinary powers under Section 487 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act to issue a directive on the night of September 26 to hold the elections on September 27 at 2 PM.
The elections carried out on Friday September 27 saw the opposition BJP securing the final seat. In her plea, Oberoi claimed that the election was unlawful and breached the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act and associated norms. She voiced reservations about the election method saying it lacked legitimacy and impartiality.
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