HC slaps costs on HP Govt for delay in filing reply in Shimla Mayor tenure case
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Shimla, July 10
Himachal Pradesh High Court has imposed costs on the State Government for repeatedly failing to file its reply in a petition challenging the extension of the tenure of the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) Mayor and Deputy Mayor from two-and-a-half years to five years.
A division bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma, while hearing CWP No. 5538 of 2026, Asha Sharma and Others versus State of Himachal Pradesh and Others, granted the respondents a final three weeks to file their replies, subject to payment of Rs 1,000 as costs to be deposited with the Himachal Pradesh State Legal Services Authority. The petitioners have been granted one week thereafter to file their rejoinder. The matter has been listed for further hearing on August 6, 2026.
Talking to Himachal Scape, Senior Advocate Sudhir Thakur, appearing for the petitioners, said the High Court had taken serious note of the State Government’s repeated failure to file its response despite several opportunities. He said the court had granted one last opportunity, making it clear that the respondents must file their replies within the stipulated period.
The petition challenges the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Act, enacted by the Congress government to extend the tenure of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor from two-and-a-half years to five years.
According to the petitioners, the amendment cannot be given retrospective effect. They contend that the election to the offices of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor was held in May 2023 under the then prevailing law, which prescribed a tenure of two-and-a-half years.
Consequently, the tenure of incumbent Mayor Surinder Chauhan and Deputy Mayor Uma Kaushal could not be extended through a subsequent amendment without seeking a fresh mandate.
The petition further argues that the continuation of the incumbents beyond their original tenure deprives eligible councillors, particularly those entitled to contest under the rotational reservation roster, of their statutory and constitutional right to seek election to the top civic posts.
The litigation, initially filed by BJP councillors including Asha Sharma, has become one of the most significant constitutional challenges to the Congress government’s amendments to local self-government laws.
The High Court is examining whether the amended Municipal Corporation Act can legally be applied retrospectively to extend the tenure of elected office-bearers after their election has already taken place.
The outcome of the case is expected to have far-reaching implications for municipal governance and the interpretation of retrospective legislation affecting elected local bodies in Himachal Pradesh.
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