Putting an end to impasse over Indore Municipal Corporation, a double bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday quashed State Government’s notification for inclusion of 29 villages into the city limit. With this Indore has joined cities like Bhopal, Jabalpur and Chhindwara where civic bodies’ elections have got stuck in legal wrangles.
Delimitation of 29 villages to Indore Municipal Corporation had been challenged by social worker Kishore Kodwari and advocate Anil Trivedi sometime back on the plea that delimitation process had not been followed as per the rule. The petitioners said that gazette notification for the inclusion of 29 villages had been made in violation to the constitutional provisions.
The petitioners while challenging the Government’s notification contended that all the 29 villages at present were governed by constitutional panchayats that had not been consulted on the merger plans.
Moreover, the petitioners claimed that the State Government had sought delimitation on account of providing amenities like water, sanitation facilities and power to these villages even as it has failed to reform the 492 slums in Indore city till now.
In a jam-packed court room, the double bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court Indore bench comprising justice PK Jaiswal and Prakash Shrivastav who had reserved their ruling in the case, on Tuesday at 10.30 am quashed the Government’s notification for inclusion of 29 villages into the city limit, thereby putting a cold water on the ongoing electoral process for Indore municipal corporation which was scheduled to go for poll on November 28 this month.
Even as HC quashed the notification on Tuesday, it left the decision of holding elections here to the discretion of the State Government, but with a condition that elections can only be held after seeking Governor’s approval.
State Government is now planning to move Supreme Court to seek a stay on the HC verdict. Significantly, last year High Court had quashed the primary notification on delimitation sought by the State Government following which it had issued a fresh notification yet again.
Both the Indore municipal corporation and the district administration were in the midst of its poll process with a large number of candidates already filing their nomination forms for 85 city wards. November 12 had been fixed as last date for filing of nomination forms.
However, with the High Court ruling, the election for Indore municipal corporation may not take place on the scheduled time unless and until the Government decides to hold election only in 69 wards as against 85 wards which had been carved out after State Government’s notification on inclusion of 29 villages into the city limit.