Karnataka HC directs State Election Commission to conduct BBMP polls by Dec 31

The Karnataka HC directed the State Election Commission (SEC) to conduct elections to the civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), by December 31.

The Karnataka High Court on Friday set aside the reservation list for the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) announced by the state government in August this year and directed the State Election Commission (SEC) to conduct elections to the civic body by December 31.

The BBMP has been without an elected council since 2020. (PTI)

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The court directed that a fresh list has to be prepared before November 30. The government announced the draft list on August 3 and notified it on August 16. Several petitions were filed in the HC challenging this notification. The HC partly accepted the contentions of petitioner K Mahadev and others from Ejipura.

The court found errors in the reservation provided in the OBC and women's categories. However, the reservation for SC/ST candidates was found to be in order. Before the HC's order, Additional Advocate General Dhyan Chinnappa submitted an affidavit prepared by H S Shivakumar, the Under Secretary of the Urban Development department.

The affidavit sought 16 weeks to redo the reservation list. The HC, however, granted only eight weeks for it. The HC also directed that the state government provide all data necessary for preparing the reservation list to the Justice (retired) Dr Bhaktavatsala Commission within one month. While the petitions were disposed of, the HC is slated to check the action taken on the order on November 30.

The HC, in September 2020, had ordered the elections to the BBMP to be conducted. The state government approached the Supreme Court and obtained a stay on this order. Earlier in May this year, the Supreme Court, while hearing the case between Madhya Pradesh and Suresh Mahajan, directed that elections to all local bodies pending in the country should be conducted without any delay.

READ | Karnataka HC rejects petitions challenging BBMP's delimitation exercise

Subsequently, the SEC approached the HC to hear its earlier plea against the state government taking over its powers of ward delimitation and reservation. In the meantime, the government announced the reservation list and completed the delimitation.