HYDERABAD: A division bench of the the Telangana High Court, comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin, on Wednesday refused to interfere in the municipal poll process, stating that it was not appropriate to conduct a hearing while polling was in progress and dismissed a PIL challenging ward reservations.
Counsel for the petitioner, Gade Ramana Reddy of Boduppal, contended that authorities had taken unilateral and illegal decisions by removing open and unreserved categories in the ward reservations. It was argued that the government orders (GOs) issued in this regard were contrary to law and liable to be set aside.
The petitioner sought directions from the court to quash the impugned GOs and to instruct the authorities to undertake ward reservations strictly in accordance with law. He also requested that fresh reservations be announced after following the proper legal procedure.
After hearing the submissions, the bench held that since polling was already in progress, it would not be justified for the court to intervene in the election process at this stage. Taking note of the settled legal principle that courts ordinarily refrain from interfering once the electoral process has commenced, the bench dismissed the PIL and declined to stall or alter the ongoing municipal and municipal corporation election process.