In a major setback to the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD Government, the Orissa High Court on Thursday struck down the March 8 amendment brought in by the State Government into the Odisha Zilla Parishad Election Rules of 1994. Striking down the amendment, a Division Bench led by Chief Justice Vineet Saran observed the Rules, laws or Acts governing a particular election shall not be altered during the intervening period once the process of election has started.
After the panchayat elections started in the State in February this year, the Panchayati Raj Department incorporated a new clause in the Rules of 1994 just four days before the scheduled March 12 elections ZP Chairperson posts.
The new clause provided appointment of agents by every political party and the election officer was empowered to allow the authorised agents to check the vote cast by an elected member of their respective parties as is the practice during Rajya Sabha elections.
Challenging the impugned amendment, an elected ZP member of Sundargarh district had approached the High Court stating that the amendment to the Rules cannot be brought midway once the process of election has started.
Arguing against the petition in the Court, the State government had stated that the amendment in the Rules was made to ensure transparency and prevent cross-voting in the elections for the posts of chairmen and vice-chairmen of the district councils.
The State Election Commission (SEC) on the other hand, had objected to the alteration of Rules midway saying that the settled law is that no government or court should interfere with the election once the process has started.
The Thursday’s judgment of the High Court will have a severe impact on the just concluded elections for the posts of chairmen and vice-chairmen of the district councils which were held under the impugned amendment of the Rules.
While the opposition BJP and Congress parties have started demanding for fresh elections for the posts of chairmen and vice chairmen, the ruling BJD is mulling with the idea of filing a review petition in the High Court or approaching the Supreme Court.
