SC asks EC to finalise tenure of Bihar MlCs

Ahead of the Bihar legislative Council elections, scheduled for July 7, the Supreme Court on Friday asked the Election Commission to suggest what method it will adopt to fix the tenure of members retiring after two and four years.The Commission had approached the apex court against a Patna High Court order — directing elections to 24 seats in the legislative Council for a six-year term with one-third members retiring after every two years. These 24 members were to be elected by local bodies in the State. In the past, the EC held elections for a whole six-year term and the HC order landed it in a fix.

The apex Bench, headed by Chief Justice Hl Dattu, was informed the legislative Council lawyer that in 1953, when the elections to the Council were first held, members retiring after every two years were determined by draw of lots. However, the lawyer further added that other than this method no other method was feasible as no criteria is fixed for retiring one set of members after two years.

The Bench asked EC to file an affidavit by Monday, a day before the polls, stating the method to identify members by draw of lots who will retire after a gap of every two years within their six-year term. The bench, also comprising Justices Arun Mishra and Amitava Roy, may also consider deferring the election for a month.