ULBs poll: SC dismisses state plea

The state government’s plan to postpone the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) elections was foiled on Friday with the Supreme Court upholding the High Court order allowing the State Election Commission (SEC) to hold polls as per its schedule.

The apex court has also ordered the state government to provide the reservation list to the SEC before February 3, based on the 2001 census. The state government had filed a special leave petition (SLP) seeking quashing of the HC order arguing that social justice cannot be ensured if the polls were conducted based on the 2001 census.

Hence, it should be postponed till the revised data on the population as per the 2011 census was available. But the bench comprising Justices H L Gokhale and Madan B Lokur refused to interfere in the High Court order allowing the SEC to hold elections to 209 urban local bodies - Town Panchayats, City Municipal Councils, Town Municipal Councils and City Municipal Corporations.

The bench also dismissed a petition filed by Raju Chavan, social activist, who pleaded that the election be conducted on the basis of revised data on the state’s population and the reservation list for the ULB polls prepared based on those figures.

The apex court said the commission can go ahead with elections on the basis of 2011 census figures.

The earlier elections to the local bodies in 2007 were held on the basis of the 2001 census figures.