The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Karnataka government and the State Election Commission (SEC) to hold the long-pending polls to the five city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) by June 30.
Fixing the schedule for the poll process, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice JK Maheshwari said the final ward-wise reservation list shall be published by the state government by February 20 and made it clear that no further extension shall be granted.
The order was passed on a plea by the Karnataka government, which was challenging the Karnataka High Court’s order of December 2020, directing SEC to hold the local body elections expeditiously after finalising the electoral rolls. The SC is monitoring the compliance of its earlier orders.
‘Ward-wise reservations under way, will be done in a month’
During the hearing, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Karnataka government, submitted that the exercise of finalising and notifying ward-wise reservations is under way and will be done within a month.
The bench took the statement on record and fixed February 20 as the final deadline for publication of reservations.
Senior advocate KN Phanindra, appearing for SEC, told the court that the date for publication of the final voter list was fixed as March 16, keeping in mind the fixture of board and college examinations. He submitted that educational institutions will be used as polling stations and teachers will be deployed for election duties.
Phanindra added that board examinations are likely to conclude by May-end and the polls to the local bodies can be held thereafter. The bench ordered, “The elections in all circumstances shall be concluded before June 30, 2026.”
In its December 2020 judgment, the high court upheld the constitutional validity of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Third Amendment Act, 2020, which increased the number of BBMP wards.
The high court had, however, “read down” the amendment, holding that it would not apply to elections that ought to have been held under Article 243 of the Constitution before the amendment came into effect.
On December 18, 2020, the top court stayed the high court order, and in 2022, it asked the state government to complete the process of delimitation of wards for BBMP and to notify the same within eight weeks.
The Karnataka government earlier notified reservations for 369 wards across five newly carved municipal corporations in GBA. Unlike the previous civic body polls, which were held for 198 wards, the next elections will be held for 369 wards across five corporations, an increase of 171. The tenure of the earlier elected body for Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) expired on September 10, 2020, and since then a government-appointed administrator was taking care of its day-to-day affairs.