PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Thursday reserved its order on petitions challenging the Ponda Assembly by-election, after a long hearing that began last month. The petitions question the validity of the Election Commission of India’s notification to hold the by-election on April 9.
The seat fell vacant after the death of former Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik on October 14, 2025. The petitioners have asked the court to cancel the poll notification, arguing that with Goa’s general elections due within a year, the by-election would mean the elected representative serves only for a short period of a few months.
