HC declines to postpone MCD ward panel polls; AAP councillors withdraw pleas

New Delhi, Aug 30 (PTI) Two AAP councillors withdrew from the Delhi High Court on Friday their pleas seeking directions to reschedule the MCD ward committee elections after the court indicated it was not inclined to grant any relief.

They had sought the rescheduling of the elections, alleging that sufficient time was not given to file nominations for the polls to elect the chairman and deputy chairman of 12 zonal ward committees and a member from each of these panels for the MCD Standing Committee.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) zonal-level ward committee elections are to be held on September 4 and the last date to file nomination is August 30.

"It is the election schedule declared by the MCD commissioner. The court cannot come in between and direct the commissioner to prescribe the schedule in a particular way. If you are sincere and want to participate, you should have gone to the corporation. You should have ensured their presence there instead of coming to the court. Your request is very unusual. I am not inclined," Justice Purushaindra Kaurav said.

After a nearly 45-minute hearing, as the court was not inclined to grant any relief, the counsel for the two councillors sought permission to withdraw their petitions which was allowed by the court.

"Yes yes, 100 per cent I am not inclined. No doubt about it," the judge said.

The petitions were filed by AAP councillors Prem Chauhan from the Dakshin Puri ward and Tilotma Choudhary from the Dabri ward.

While Chauhan claimed he was unwell and indisposed, Choudhary said she was currently out of Delhi and was left with no time to make arrangements and do the paperwork.

Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, representing Chauhan, submitted that he was not asking to postpone the elections for a long time and was just urging to grant two to three days more.

"I am on the issue of free and fair elections and want that there should be maximum participation. I am a councillor and wish to contest in the polls. The nominations start today and it ends this evening. I am not well and need 2-3 days," the counsel representing Chauhan said and added that there are 250 councillors in the city.

To this, the judge said that instead of coming to the court, he should have gone to the corporation to take the nomination form and should have communicated to them that he was unwell and the commissioner would accommodate him in some way.

The court said it cannot start dictating to the corporation the time period to be fixed for the election process and it is for the MCD chief to decide and he had already done so.

On Thursday, AAP councillors wrote letters to MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar and Mayor Shelly Oberoi seeking rescheduling of ward committee elections, saying they were not given sufficient time to file their nominations.

The corporation on August 28 announced the date for the long-pending ward committee elections, essential for the formation of the standing committee which is MCD's highest decision-making body.

The standing committee is important for giving approval to proposals involving expenditures of Rs 5 crore and above. PTI