Mumbai: The state government on Wednesday informed the Bombay high court (HC) that the process of delimitation of wards of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be kept in abeyance till December 20, when petitions challenging the reversal of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s decision to increase the number of electoral wards in Mumbai by 9, from 227 to 236, will be heard next.
Senior advocate Vikram Nankani, who represented the state government, made the statement that the state government will not proceed ahead with the delimitation of wards in Mumbai till the next date of hearing on the petition filed by Raju Pednekar.
Pednekar has filed the petition, challenging the reversal of the BMC ward delimitation ordinance issued by the MVA government last year which increased the electoral wards of the BMC from 227 to 236 for the upcoming elections. The current government through an ordinance of August 8 had reversed the decision.
In his petition filed through advocate Joel Carlos, Pednekar stated that the MVA ordinance had been upheld by the Supreme Court (SC) after which the state election commission had initiated the ward delimitation process, hence if the latest ordinance was not declared against the constitution, it would render the exercise of the SEC futile and cause loss to the state exchequer.
During the course of hearing on the petition, on Wednesday, Nankani informed the court that there were multiple petitions filed before the apex court, challenging the ordinance that reversed the MVA government’s decision to increase the electoral wards.
Senior advocate Aspi Chinoy for Pednekar, however, pointed out that the ordinance had not been challenged before the SC and the petition before the high court only after the top court had specifically directed to approach the high court over the issue. The senior advocate also pointed out that the state government had on November 22 issued instructions for immediate fixation of ward boundaries for the forthcoming elections.
Responding to the contention, Nankani made a statement that the state government will not proceed ahead with the delimitation process in Mumbai till the next date.
The division bench of justice SV Gangapurwala and justice AS Doctor then posted the petition for further hearing on December 20, 2022.