New Delhi: Supreme Court The Himachal Pradesh Supreme Court on Friday repeatedly interfered with the state government’s decisions and said the high court did not appear to allow the elected government to function. The SC warned that such interference would be taken seriously in future.Despite these oral remarks, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the apex court had rightly rejected the Himachal Pradesh government’s reliance on the ongoing delimitation process to seek a six-month postponement of local body elections. “The pendency of the delimitation exercise cannot be a ground for seeking postponement of the elections,” the bench said.It also said that the Supreme Council was correct in saying that timely holding of elections to urban local bodies, municipalities and nagar panchayat is constitutionally mandated. HP has about 3,500 gram panchayat, 90 panchayat samitis, 11 zila parishad and 71 urban local bodies, most of which are going to the polls this year.Taking into account logistical and winter transportation issues to remote areas, the committee extended the NPC’s April 30 deadline for completing local body elections by a month to May 31.Senior advocate Maninder Singh, appearing for the petitioners on a plea seeking completion of the delimitation exercise by February 28, told the bench that the high court had set the deadline considering that the nationwide census exercise would begin from May 1. He said it was the State Election Commission that cited this fact in the SC.For the state government, senior advocate V Giri said the apex committee should keep in mind the logistics while setting a deadline for completing the civic body elections.The CJI-led bench said in its order, “The Supreme Council’s direction that elections to local bodies must be held after the expiration of their terms as mandated by the Constitution does not merit any interference.”“However, taking into account logistical difficulties, we have revised the timetable and directed that all preparations must be completed by March 31, instead of February 28. The election will be held eight weeks thereafter, that is, by May 31. Applications for extension of time will not be entertained.”
