Goa Municipal Polls: SC Upholds HC Order Over Irregularities

The SC has said that elections to the five municipal councils that were postponed should be completed by 30 April.

Goa CM Pramod Sawant

(File Photo: IANS)

The Supreme Court on Friday, 12 March, upheld a recent order of the Bombay High Court which had postponed elections to five municipal councils in Goa over irregularities in reservation of constituencies for Scheduled Tribes and women.

The Court has also said that elections to the five municipal councils, which were originally scheduled for 20 March, should now be completed by 30 April.

The Court also ordered that a serving state Law Secretary cannot be serving as a State Election Commissioner (SEC).

What Was the Case?

Ahead of eleven municipal councils and one municipal corporation that were scheduled to go to polls on 20 March, petitions were filed in the Bombay High Court over irregularities in reservation of municipal wards for women and Scheduled Caste categories.

On 2 March, the Bombay High Court bench postponed elections to five municipal councils, namely Margao, Mapusa, Mormugao, Sanguem and Quepem, by 15 April.

The Goa government then challenged the HC order in the Supreme Court, through a special leave petition while two Opposition parties – the Congress and Goa Forward –  had filed caveats in the Supreme Court subsequently.

What’s the Order Passed by the SC?

IANS quoted the head the state Congress legal cell advocate Carlos Ferreira as saying that the SC had also faulted the Goa government for appointing a serving state Law Secretary as a State Election Commissioner (SEC) and had directed other states to ensure that the SEC should not hold dual responsibilities.

“The SC using this judgment has passed unique directions under Article 142 of the Constitution, directing that the Law Secretary who is holding charge as SEC (in Goa) be removed forthwith and directed that if SECs are holding dual charge in other states, should be removed (from their posts) forthwith,” Ferreira said.

“This independent post (SEC) is a very high Constitutional post, as underlined by the SC in this judgement. The SC has come down very heavily on the Law Secretary on his conduct in the manner of functioning and manner of maintaining the decorum as SEC,” he said, as quoted by IANS.

Opposition Welcomes SC Order

Opposition parties in Goa have welcomed the order by the Supreme Court.

“After this SC order, the CM should not be sitting in the chair for a single minute because of all the harakiri and flouting of election processes, his government has violated ahead of the municipal polls,” state Congress president Girish Chodankar said, as quoted by IANS.

“The government who has not given the Bahujan Samaj (a non-Brahmin caste grouping in Goa), the STs', the SCs' and women their worth has been shown its place by means of the SC order,” President of the Goa Forward party and former deputy Chief Minister Vijai Sardesai told IANS.

(With inputs from IANS.)