VIJAYAWADA: Days after the Andhra Pradesh High Court struck down the state government’s Ordinance — that amended the Panchayat Raj Act to curtail the tenure of the State Election Commission (SEC) — and directed for Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar to be reinstated as the SEC, the government on Monday filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the High Court verdict.
The High Court, which heard a batch of petitions, including one filed by Ramesh Kumar, recently struck down the AP Panchayat Raj (Second Amendment) Ordinance (No.5 of 2020) and the GOs through which the government reduced the SEC’s tenure from five to three years, causing Ramesh Kumar to cease holding the post of SEC.
Soon after the verdict, Ramesh Kumar restored himself as the SEC, and the government found fault with this act. Later, the SEC’s office withdrew the circular that restored Ramesh Kumar as the SEC.
Advocate General (AG) Subrahmanyam Sriram earlier found fault with Ramesh Kumar restoring himself to the office of SEC, saying that the High Court did not say he can be self-restored to the office.