Maharashtra local body polls: Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court postpones date for declaring results

The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court on Tuesday postponed the counting of votes and declaration of results for the Municipal Council, Nagar Parishad and Nagar Panchayat elections in Maharashtra from December 3 to December 21. .A Bench of Justices Anil S Kilor and Rajnish R Vyas held that the phase-wise counting and results declaration will materially influence the voting and outcome of the second phase.Hence, the results have to be declared together and not in a phased manner. The order was passed in clutch of petitions seeking declaration of results for the local body elections on the same day. The bench also directed that the Model Code of Conduct must be followed till the declaration of results and no exit polls can be held until then.Several petitions from Warora, Gondia and other wards from Maharashtra challenged the Maharashtra State Election Commission’s decision to count votes and declare results in a phase wise manner. The petitions prayed for a direction that results of all wards within their respective municipal councils be declared on a single date in a non-bifurcated manner. "The decision (of phase wise results) has a direct effect of creating a two-tier electoral process within the same Municipal Council and further conferring an undue political and psychological advantage upon candidates in the remaining wards who will be contesting against the background of an already declared Council composition. It will also enable alliances, inducements, political negotiations and public perception to be shaped by the already declared results in wards" the petitions underscored. The petitions also argued that declaring results in a phased manner will violate the fundamental principle that elections must be free, fair and provide a level playing field to all candidates.One of the petitioners, Congress candidate Shakil Hamid Mansoori, was represented by advocates Hrishikesh Chitley and Vedant Pandey. .Similar petitions were heard by the Aurangabad Bench and the Kolhapur circuit Bench of the High Court.The division bench of Justices VV Kankanwadi and Hiten Shamrao Venegavkar also directed the SEC to issue guidelines for future elections to clarify appellate timelines and bring uniform approach for postponement for elections to minimise last minute disruption in elections within10 weeks..[Read orders].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.