Panjim: The High Court of Bombay at Goa, while refusing to grant stay on the ensuing Zilla Panchayat (ZP) elections, has allowed the petitioners to amend their petition to challenge the latest notification declaring the polls on December 12 2020.
Petitioners, Sudip Tamhankar and Kewal Mayekar had earlier this month filed a plea before the High Court challenging the order dated March 20, 2020 by which ZP elections which were scheduled on March 22 were postponed on account of the pandemic. The order had also stated that the election process up to the stage of campaigning was to be made valid and it was this portion of the order mainly challenged through the present petition.
The bench of Justices M S Sonak and M S Jawalkar, during the hearing, noted that at this stage, “We are not quite satisfied as to what prevented the petitioners from instituting this Petition earlier, since; the main challenge in this Petition was to the portion of the order issued on March 20. As noted earlier, there is no challenge in this Petition to the notification dated December 5, now scheduling the elections to December 12.”
Counsel Dattaprasad Lawande, appearing for the petitioners, pointed out that the Election Commissioner, without any application of mind has imposed the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), which was lifted by order dated March 20 only for the period between December 5 and December 12. He submitted that this will affect the free and fair conduct of the election process. He further stated that if this Court ought not to hold the elections scheduled on December 12 at least, postpone the elections, so that there is MCC in operation for a period of at least 4 weeks. Lawande insisted it is not at all free and fair conduct of the election process.
The State government and the Election Commissioner, who are made respondents in the matter, submitted that there was no prescribed period under any statute during which the MCC is to operate.
The bench directed that the parties complete their pleadings within two months and thereafter, the court grants liberty to the petitioners to apply for interim relief in this matter. On request from the petitioners, the court granted liberty to amend the Petition inter alia by challenging the notification dated December 5. In the order that refused to stay on the election, the court has stated that the necessary amendment be carried out within two weeks.
