GG News Bureau
Dehradun, 11th Jan. The Uttarakhand High Court, while hearing petitions challenging the Reservation Rules 2024 for the upcoming municipal elections, has directed the state government to file a reply affidavit within four weeks. The hearing, conducted on Friday, did not result in any interim orders.
The single bench, led by Justice Rakesh Thapliyal, noted that the petitioners claimed the state government had bypassed established procedures when issuing the reservation notification. They pointed out that the election schedule was announced on the same evening as the reservation notification, leaving no opportunity for objections.
The petitioners argued that the state government and the Election Commission failed to adhere to rules that allow for objections after the announcement of reservation. Furthermore, they contended that the reservation of seats with less than 10,000 OBC and ST populations, such as Almora, was unjustified. In contrast, they suggested that areas like Dehradun and Haldwani, with larger OBC and ST populations, should have been given reserved seats.
In defense, the state government maintained that the reservation roster had been implemented in full accordance with the Uttarakhand (Uttar Pradesh Nagar Palika Act, 1916) Amendment Act, notified on September 20 of last year. They also emphasized that the reservation of seats was in line with Article 243T of the Indian Constitution, which governs local elections.
The state government further argued that the petition was not maintainable and should have been filed as an election petition instead.
The next hearing on the matter has been scheduled for March 3. Meanwhile, municipal elections for 11 municipal corporations, 43 municipal councils, and 46 nagar panchayats in Uttarakhand are set to take place on January 23, with vote counting slated for January 25.
The post Uttarakhand HC Seeks Govt’s Response on 2024 Reservation Rules for Municipal Polls appeared first on Global Governance News- Asia's First Bilingual News portal for Global News and Updates.
