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The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the Goa government's plea against the Bombay High Court order which quashed the State Government's decision to postpone the elections to 186 panchayats in the State.
"We find no reason to consider interference in the impugned order dated 28 June 2022 as passed by the High Court of Bombay at Goa in a writ petition... for the order being precisely in conformity with the requirements of Article 243E of the Constitution of India and with the decision of this Court," a vacation bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Krishna Murari said while rejecting the Goa government submission seeking to postpone the polls due to the ongoing monsoon season. The court remarked that monsoon cannot be a ground to stall something in the states like Goa. "Further, it has been noticed that in compliance with the impugned order, notification for the election has already been issued by the petitioner-state on 30 June 2022. That being the position, we find no reason to interfere in the process of elections," the apex court said. The Court said that it did not find any reason to interfere with the High Court order. However, the Court granted the State Election Commission to move High Court in case of any difficulty, for the further necessary directions. On June 28, the Bombay High Court quashed the decision of Goa state to postpone elections to 186 panchayats in the State and observed that the State Government and the State Election Commission (SEC) have failed to comply with the constitutional mandate under Article 243E to hold Panchayat elections. The Bombay HC had directed the State Government to "issue a notification under Rule 10 of the Election Procedure Rules, 1996 appointing the date for holding elections to 186 Panchayats in the State of Goa, whose terms have expired or are due to expire shortly." It also directed that the concerned officers of the State Government must confer with the SEC and appoint the precise date for holding elections. However, the State Government and the SEC must ensure that the elections are held and completed no later than 45 days from today, the Bombay HC had said on June 28. The Goa government had moved to the top court challenging the decision the High Court's decision by stating it "erroneous". (ANI)
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