HC seeks Maha govt’s response to petitions questioning delimitation for local body polls

The court was hearing pleas filed against the delimitation process for several municipal corporations, including those of Thane and Vasai-Virar, ahead of the long-delayed local body polls

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday sought the Maharashtra government’s response to a batch of petitions challenging the delimitation notifications for the upcoming local body elections across the state.

Mumbai, India - Aug. 28, 2015 : Bombay High Court : ( Photo by Bhushan Koyande )

A division bench of chief justice Shree Chandrashekhar and justice Gautam Ankhad was hearing pleas filed against the delimitation process for several municipal corporations, including the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) and Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC), ahead of the long-delayed local body polls.

During the hearing, senior advocate Anil Anturkar, appearing for one of the petitioners, argued that the state’s latest delimitation exercise violated the Supreme Court’s directives.

“The Supreme Court had directed that elections be conducted based on delimitation notifications issued before March 11, 2022—specifically, the 2017 notification. However, the state government issued a fresh notification, effectively enacting a new delimitation in defiance of the apex court’s order,” he submitted.

Anturkar further contended that the state’s actions were contrary to the Supreme Court’s clear instructions that no new delimitation should be undertaken beyond the prescribed cutoff date.

The petitions come in the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s September 16 order, which had fixed January 31, 2026, as the final deadline for holding the long-pending local body elections in Maharashtra. The top court had also rebuked the State Election Commission (SEC) for its failure to act within the earlier timelines, and directed that the delimitation process be completed by October 31, 2025.

Local body elections in the state have been stalled since 2022 due to legal disputes surrounding the political reservation framework for Other Backward Classes (OBC). The Supreme Court had clarified that polls should proceed based on the OBC reservation model that existed prior to the Banthia Commission’s report submitted in July 2022.

Appearing in another petition, senior advocate Neeta Karnik highlighted irregularities in the delimitation process of the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation. She pointed out that several villages already part of the corporation were denotified and converted into separate gram panchayats, allegedly without following due process.

After hearing the arguments, the bench directed the SEC to file its affidavit responding to the petitions by next week. The court clarified, however, that the ongoing proceedings “should not be construed as a stay” on the current delimitation notifications or election preparations.

The matter will be taken up for further hearing next week.