VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday issued a stay order on the conduct of elections to Eluru Municipal Corporation.
A single-judge bench, headed by Justice DVSS Somayajulu heard a batch of petitions seeking an interim order to stay the March 10 polls to the Eluru municipal corporation. They reasoned that the authorities failed to rectify the anomalies in the preparation of electoral rolls and provision of reservation.
Seven-gram panchayats surrounding Eluru town were merged with the municipal corporation on December 31, 2019 and petitions were filed on the irregularities in the delimitation of wards.
Based on petitions filed earlier stating that revision of electoral rolls were not done as per Electors Rules, 1960 and provisions of Representation of People’s Act, 1950. The court in its earlier order issued on March 5, 2020, directed the district election and municipal corporation authorities to rectify the anomalies in the electoral rolls. When the State Election Commission asked the district and Eluru municipal authorities on the status, the officials are learnt to have informed the SEC that all anomalies were rectified and accordingly, the SEC notified the election to the municipal corporation on March 9, 2020 along with other civic bodies.
However, during the hearing on Monday, the court asked whether its earlier order to rectify anomalies in preparation of electoral rolls and other irregularities were addressed.
When the petitioners’ counsel Nimmagadda Venkateswarlu informed the court its earlier order was not complied with, the court issued an interim order to stay the Eluru municipal corporation elections.
