Team Herald
PANJIM: Ahead of the much-awaited elections to the 186 village panchayats, four persons have moved the High Court of Bombay at Goa challenging the Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation in three VPs.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
Petitioners Alex D’Souza, Srikrishna Nagvekar, Salvador Blaize Peter Fernandes and SalimSayed have challenged the recent notification pertaining to Nagoa-Arpora, Parra and Candolim VPs and have sought that the previous notification be restored and the present one be revoked.
The petitions that came up for hearing before the Division Bench of Justice M S Sonak and Justice R N Laddha on Monday have been posted for further hearing on July 20 with the court giving no room for delaying tactics by any individual, group or government to delay the VP elections.
The State government and the State Election Commission have been directed to submit their reply by Tuesday evening, advance copy of which has to be shared with the petitioners as well. The reply, the court said, can be sent via email as well.
The elections, which have been delayed owing to various reasons, are scheduled on August 10 while the counting will be held on August 12.
In its notification dated July 1, the SEC stated that it had submitted a file for the reservation proposal to the State Government for consultation and for comments if any. The State Government returned the reservation proposal of 186 Village Panchayats to the Commission after completing the consultation process on May 26, 2022.
