Pointing out that there was no provision in the Constitution or in the Karnataka Grama Swaraj and Panchayat Raj (KGSPR) Act empowering the State Election Commission (SEC) to put off elections to panchayats, the High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday directed the SEC to reconsider its May 28 decision to temporarily postpone elections to gram panchayats.
“Prima facie, under Article 243K of the Constitution and Section 308 of the KGSPR Act, power is not vested in the SEC to postpone general elections to the panchayats. Also, Section 308 has been enacted to give effect to the mandate of the Constitution that elections to pachayats are completed before the expiry of their tenure,” the court observed.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Nataraj Rangaswamy passed the interim order on a PIL petition, filed K.C. Kondaiah, Congress MLC, and others. The petitioners had questioned the constitutional validity of the May 28 notification issued by the SEC.
The Bench also noted that places of worship, shopping complexes and restaurants were thrown open in the State from June 8, and the Ministry of Home Affairs had issued new guidelines on May 30, subsequent to the May 28 decision of the SEC to put off the polls. The Bench said the SEC should reconsider its decision taking into consideration the observations made in court order and the MHA’s new guidelines.
During the hearing, the Bench asked what was the difficulty in holding elections when SSLC exams could be held. When people can go to places of worship and malls, why can’t they go to polling stations, it asked.
Senior counsel Ravivarma Kumar, appearing for the petitioners, pointed out that the SEC did not have the power to postpone elections and the May 28 notification was issued hastily when relaxation of lockdown was anticipated.
The SEC had, in its notification, stated that it had taken the decision treating the situation as an “exceptional circumstance” as the district administration machineries were engaged in controlling the spread of COVID-19 and as there would be difficulties in maintaining social distancing while making poll preparations. The terms of around 5,800 of 6,025 gram panchayats expire between June and August.