Supreme Court restores MLAs’ Voting rights in Urban Local Body polls, stays Himachal HC order
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Supreme Court restores MLAs’ Voting rights in Urban Local Body polls, stays Himachal HC order
Shimla, June 15,
Supreme Court has granted major relief to the Himachal Pradesh government by staying the Himachal Pradesh High Court’s interim order that barred MLAs from voting in elections to the posts of President and Vice-President of Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats.
Addressing the media in Shimla on Monday, Advocate General Anoop Rattan said Section 10(3) of the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Act, 1994, specifically confers voting rights upon MLAs as ex-officio members of municipal bodies.
He said the High Court, while hearing a batch of petitions, had stayed the participation of MLAs in the election of municipal heads, holding that only elected councillors were entitled to vote.
Rattan said the state government challenged the High Court’s June 4 order before the Supreme Court through a Special Leave Petition. He added that the apex court, while granting interim relief, observed that the law enacted around 32 years ago had consistently recognized the voting rights of MLAs in municipal bodies.
According to the Advocate General, the Supreme Court noted that MLAs are elected representatives of larger constituencies and, therefore, their voting rights in municipal councils cannot be denied when the statute expressly provides for their participation.
The controversy arose after a division bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Ranjan Sharma ruled, prima facie, that only elected councillors could participate in elections for the posts of President and Vice-President of Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats. The High Court had also stayed a 2023 clarification issued by the Urban Development Department supporting voting rights of ex-officio members in such elections.
Also read: HC bars MLAs from voting in ULBs, Poll outcome subject to final verdict
While passing the interim order, the High Court had held that the statutory framework governing the election of municipal chairpersons envisaged participation only by elected members and that allowing MLAs to vote could affect the autonomy of local self-government institutions. However, it had clarified that MLAs would continue to enjoy their rights as ex-officio members in general meetings and committee proceedings.
With the Supreme Court staying the High Court’s directions, MLAs will now be entitled to participate and vote in elections for Presidents and Vice-Presidents of Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats across the state.
A caveat petition had also been filed before the apex court on behalf of councillors opposing the government’s stand. The Supreme Court will now examine the detailed constitutional and legal issues involved in the matter at a later stage. Until then, the stay order will govern the conduct of the elections.
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