PANAJI
In a blow to the Pramod Sawant led BJP government in Goa, which had made the municipality reservations a prestige issue, the Supreme Court of India on Friday dismissed the petitions filed by the Goa government and declined to substantially interfere with the orders of the Bombay High Court at Goa which had quashed the Goa government notifications with regards to five municipal councils and asked the Director of Municipal Administration to issue fresh notifications.
Sawant, who had prematurely celebrated when the Supreme Court issued an interim ‘stay’ on the orders of the High Court claiming that “the democratic process has been restored!” has now said he will rectify the errors in the reservations in tune with the Supreme Court orders.
In its orders, the Supreme Court bench of Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman, B R Gavai and Hrishikesh Roy also pulled up the State government for making an existing employee of the Government as the State Election Commissioner saying it compromised the independence of the institution.
“The independence of the election commission cannot be compromised in a democracy. Entrusting additional charge of state election commissioner to a government official is a mockery of the Constitution,” the bench observed.
In orders that will have implications across the country, the Supreme Court exercising its powers under Articles 142 and 144 of the Constitution held that election commissioners have to be “independent persons” and that nobody, who has been employed or holds an office of profit under the central or any state government, could be appointed as election commissioners.
Goa’s Law Secretary Choka Ram Garg, who was holding charge of the State Election Commissioner will now have to let go of that post.
“The SC has straightforward dismissed the appeals filed by the state government. The SC has found that there was clear machination done by the government in trying to manipulate the entire constitutional machinery and override constitutional provisions,” Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira said.
In a judgement delivered earlier this month, the Bombay High Court at Goa had quashed and set aside the reservation notifications issued in respect of five municipalities in Goa and asked the government to issue fresh notifications this time “reservation for women of not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved for direct elections to the Municipal Councils.”
“We direct the Director and ex-officio Additional Secretary, Municipal Administrator Urban Development, Goa to issue fresh Notification under sub-section 1 of Section 9 r/w. Subsection 1 of Section 10 of the Goa Municipalities Act, 1968 within a period of 10 days from today, thereby ensuring inter alia, reservation for women of not less than on-third of the total number of seats reserved for direct elections to the Municipal Councils,” the High Court said.
In view of the Supreme Court now upholding the High Court’s orders, the period of ten days will begin effective from today.
“The SEC of Goa is directed to expeditiously notify the election programme, on the order for reservation of seats in the Municipal Councils and shall align the schedule of election in a manner, to ensure its completion by fixing up its various stages as per the Goa Municipalities (Election) Rules, 1969 and the culmination of the process on or before 15th April, 2021,” HC had said.
In view of the Supreme Court’s order the culmination date now stands at April 30.
