CHENNAI: The Madras High Court dismissed a petition seeking an extension of the tenure of a local body in Tiruvannamalai district on Wednesday.
Justice CV Karthikeyan dismissed the petition, which was filed by RC Raja, a panchayat union councillor from Thandrampet in Tiruvannamalai. He had sought the court to issue a direction to the government to extend the tenure of the civic body until December 14, 2026, stating that the tenure should be counted from the date of the first meeting of the council.
The petitioner noted that the first meeting of the panchayat union council was held only on December 15, 2021, due to the delay in the election of the chairperson.
However, AAG J Ravindran submitted that the tenure should be counted from the day the members take the oath, and not from the day of the first meeting, as per the Panchayats Act.
When the petitioner sought to quash the G.O. for appointing special officers for civic bodies, the judge refused to issue such a direction but stated that the petitioner could file a fresh petition in this regard.