Former State Election Commissioner (SEC) had earned the wrath of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy after he postponed the local bodies elections on March 15 which were scheduled to be held on March 25.
The Andhra Pradesh High Court Monday directed the state government to file a counter-affidavit in a writ petition filed by former State Election Commissioner (SEC) Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar against his removal. Kumar was removed last week.
The HC posted the matter to next Monday and asked the government to file the counter by Thursday. Kumar, who was removed as SEC by a special ordinance issued last week which reduced his tenure from five to three years making him ineligible to continue in office anymore, had filed the writ Sunday in the HC. Apart from Kumar, BJP leader Kamineni Srinivas, TDP ex-MP V Sobhanadreswara Rao and TDP leader V Ramaiah also filed separate petitions against the removal of Kumar.
The government has already appointed Justice (retired) V Kanagaraj, who retired from the Madras High Court, as the new SEC. In his petition, Kumar stated that his removal was unconstitutional and alleged that the ordinance is against the 2017’s Supreme Court judgment.
Kumar had earned the wrath of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy after he postponed the local bodies elections on March 15 which were scheduled to be held on March 25. Kumar stated that in view of the Covid-19 the situation was not conducive to hold the elections, and also cited attacks on TDP members by ruling YSRCP leaders. On Friday night, the government promulgated an Ordinance amending Section 200 of the AP Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, reducing the tenure of the SEC.