CHENNAI : A PIL petition has been filed in the Madras High Court challenging recent Ordinance 8 of the TN State Election Commission, in so far as it declared that indirect elections will be held for posts of Mayors and chairpersons in urban areas like Corporations and Municipalities.
A division bench of Justices M Satyanarayanan and R Hemalatha, before which the PIL from Pulavar Esu Mani, president of Redemption of Right, came up for hearing on Tuesday, adjourned it to December 17 with a direction to his counsel to raise additional grounds by filing appropriate affidavits, supported by documents.
Petitioner said that promulgation of an ordinance could be done only in exceptional cases and not as a substitute of the law making power of the legislature. The issuance of the ordinance was to achieve political gains and not to serve any public cause. The government, which had made an enactment for direct election of Mayors, Municipal Chairpersons, could not now take a ‘U’ turn. It showed its inconsistency. The ordinance would only encourage horse-trading.
The explanation given by the government that it would be convenient if the Mayor and the Councilors belong to same party cannot be and should not be its concern. The idea was unreasonable, petitioner further contended.Holding that the grounds raised in the writ petition cannot be termed as legally tenable ones, the bench directed the petitioner to file additional affidavits.
Petition
Petitioner said that promul-gation of an ordinance could be done only in excep-tional cases and not as a substitute of the law making power of the legislature.