HC vacates stay on Gurugram MC poll

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 26

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today vacated the stay on holding the Gurugram Municipal Corporation elections. The state government placed on record the draft of the final notification of wardbandi or delimitation of the corporation.

The Division Bench headed by Justice Mahesh Grover observed that the petitioner would be at liberty to challenge the notification, if aggrieved. The court also adjourned the hearing of the case for October 13.

The developments took place on a petition filed Bhoop Singh of Tigra village and four other petitioners. They were seeking the setting aside of the notifications dated September 2, 2016, and January 13, 2017, vide which Haryana and other respondents re-fixed the number of seats/wards and demarcated the ward boundaries for the elections in an “arbitrary, malafide and discriminatory manner”. It was also against the principles settled for delimitation of wards, the petitioners argued.

Directions were also sought for staying the notifications vide which the delimitation was carried out in an “arbitrary and mala fide” manner. The petitioners also prayed for stay on the issuance of the notification announcing the commencement of the election process.

Going into the background of the controversy, the petitioners contended that the total number of wards was fixed at 35 after the last exercise of delimitation was carried out in 2010.

But the number of wards was reduced from 35 in 2010 to 32 vide a notification dated February 4, 2016. The reduction was on account of census figures showing a reduction in the total population from 11, 53,734 as per the 2009 Census to 9, 09, 392 as per the 2011 Census. Still, the impugned notification dated January 13 was issued proposing a fresh demarcation of 35 wards.

The case

• The petitioners contended that the total number of wards was fixed at 35 after delimitation in 2010.
• The number of wards was reduced from 35 in 2010 to 32 vide a notification dated February 4, 2016.