NEW DELHI: In a vindication of AAP’s stand, the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that nominated members cannot vote in the election for the mayor of Municipal Corporation of Delhi and ordered the LG’s office to notify within 24 hours a schedule for electing a new chairman of the 250-member civic body, dominated by AAP councillors.A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala discarded the arguments of MCD and lieutenant governor advocating voting rights for nominated members in the mayoral elections to be conducted by pro tem presiding officer.Presiding officer’s role to end after mayor is elected Supreme Court on Friday said it wanted the polls to be held “ideally on Saturday” itself. “Ideally elections should be held tomorrow (Saturday). It is an important local body. It does not do great credit to anyone that the mayor has not been elected even though the municipal elections for representations from wards were completed on December 4,” said the bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala. The SC also ruled that after the mayor’s election, the pro team speaker would have no role in the election to the posts of deputy mayor and six members to the standing committee, which would be presided over by the newly elected mayor. The SC said the nominated members, as per Article 243R of the Constitution, have no right to vote in either the mayoral or any other elections in MCD.AAP had challenged that the LG-appointed pro tem presiding officer Satya Sharma’s decision to hold elections to mayor, deputy mayor and standing committee members simultaneously. Additional solicitor general Sanjay Jain, appearing for MCD, conceded that after the election of mayor, the role of pro tem presiding officer comes to an end.Accepting every contention of senior advocate A M Singhvi on behalf of AAP and its mayoral candidate Shelly Oberoi, the bench said it needs to be emphasised that after the mayor gets elected in the first meeting of MCD, the pro tem presiding officer cannot insist on conducting the elections to the posts of deputy mayor or those of the standing committee members.Article 243R provided that “persons having knowledge or experience in municipal administration” can be nominated to the civic bodies, but had specified that these nominated members “shall not have the right to vote in the meetings of the municipality”. The SC said the DMC Act, 1957 has provisions identical to the mandate of Article 243R of the Constitution.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/nominated-members-cant-vote-in-mcd-mayor-poll-sc/articleshow/98030144.cms
