A Telangana High Court division bench led by Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice C Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy has requested the State government and the petitioner’s counsel to submit a compilation of previous Supreme Court and various High Court judgments and adjourned the three separate petitions challenging the GO on conducting elections for Telangana Medical Council after lowering the number of elected representatives.
The division Bench heard three separate petitions brought by Dr B Arundati and others, who challenged the GO issued by the TMC lowering the number of elected representatives and conducting elections. The division bench first delayed the polls and requested the government to defend its GO.
The petitioner’s counsel notified the court that AP Medical Council elections were not held because electoral registers were not prepared. The AP Medical Council’s five-year term expired on January 2, 2012, and a governing body was nominated for a one-year term or till elections, for which a GO was given on December 28, 2012, and which is extended from time to time.
Following the split, the Telangana government issued another GO 15 on January 1, 2016, noting that it thought it was essential as a stopgap measure.
The petitioner’s counsel also claimed that, while the electoral rolls are available, the elected members’ number decreased from 13 to five, but that of the nominated members did not and the number remained at six. With this, a nominated member becomes the chairman as the number of nominated members is more. He accused the government of interfering with the independent organisation by decreasing the number of elected members to the Telangana Medical Council.
The Government Pleader notified the court that the State is ready to hold elections. Teaching staff, women candidates, and other reserved candidates must be accommodated in the council, he claimed, which is why the government has not lowered the number of nominated members.