Supreme Court notice to Central Government, State Election Commission over deferral of MCD polls

Taking cognizance of the petition of the Aam Aadmi Party, the Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the State Election Commission to conduct the municipal elections in Delhi.

The apex court said, without the interference of the Central Government the election in the national capital should be conducted in a free, fair manner. The court has fixed August 26 for the next hearing of the case.

A bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar has sought a response from the State Election Commission and the central government on AAP’s plea.

Earlier in March, the plea was filed after the Delhi State Election Commission indefinitely deferred the MCD elections. The petition was filed by AAP and its leaders Ankush Narang and Manoj Kumar Tyagi.

“The brazen influence of the Government of India over the State Election Commission and its flagrant meddling with the conduct of municipal elections forms the subject matter of this writ petition,” the plea stated.

At the same time, in another case, the Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission and all the concerned state authorities of Maharashtra to ensure that the election process in respect of local bodies is started immediately and carried forward based on the order dated 4 May. The court has ordered the Maharashtra State Commission to issue a notification of the elections within two weeks.

However, the Supreme Court clearly said that we want elections to be held and that they should not be unnecessarily postponed indefinitely.