The Calcutta High Court has stayed the issuance of any notification for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) elections under the newly reorganised ward structure, dealing a setback to the state government’s plans for holding the civic polls.

On Friday, November 6, a vacation division bench of the High Court, comprising Justice Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya and Justice Arjun Roy Mukherjee, directed the State Election Commission (SEC) not to issue any election notification under the revised arrangement until the pending case challenging the ward delimitation is resolved.

The order came in connection with an appeal filed by former CPM councillor Dipu Das, who challenged the redrawing of boundaries of KMC wards. The reorganisation increased the number of wards from the existing 144 to 209.

Dispute over delimitation process

The petitioner has questioned the manner in which the state government carried out the delimitation exercise, alleging that the process was rushed and lacked scientific justification.

According to the petitioner, the exercise was undertaken without adequately considering public opinion and was driven by political considerations rather than the objective of improving municipal administration and civic services.

Advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, appearing for Dipu Das, told the division bench that the delimitation proposal was introduced on August 5, while the increase in the number of wards from 144 to 209 was announced on August 7. The final list was subsequently published on September 11.

Questioning the legality of the exercise, Bhattacharyya argued that the process had been initiated when the KMC did not have an elected body. Following the change in the state government, the municipal corporation had been dissolved and an administrator appointed.

He contended that the delimitation proposal had originated from the administrator rather than an elected municipal body, raising questions about the authority under which such a significant decision could be taken.

State defends ward reorganisation

Opposing the petition, Advocate General Surajit Nath Mitra, representing the state government, maintained that the delimitation exercise had been conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Municipal Act.

He submitted that all concerned parties had been given an opportunity to express their views during the process.

The Advocate General also questioned the maintainability of the petition, arguing that objections of this nature could only be raised through an election petition after the elections had been conducted. Therefore, the challenge to the delimitation exercise was premature, he contended.

Appeal against single-judge order

The dispute had earlier come up before a single-judge bench of Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya on October 29. The court had declined to grant an interim stay on the delimitation process.

Instead, the single-judge bench directed the state government to file an affidavit within three weeks. The petitioner was subsequently allowed one week to submit a counter-affidavit. The parties were also given the liberty to seek an early listing of the matter for further hearing.

Dissatisfied with the decision, Dipu Das approached the division bench by filing an appeal.

Following arguments from both sides, the vacation division bench reserved its judgment. The court had earlier directed that no notification concerning the KMC elections could be issued until November 6.

With Friday’s order, the restriction on issuing an election notification under the revised ward structure has now been extended until the pending legal dispute is resolved. The development puts the proposed KMC election schedule under a cloud, with the legality of the ward delimitation exercise now emerging as a crucial hurdle.

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