According to the latest reports, on Friday, February 18, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea by BJP councillors who challenged the Maharashtra government ordinance that notified the increase of nine seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
After the Bombay High Court dismissed their plea, they moved to the apex court. The BJP councillors who made the petition were Abhijit Samant and Rajeshree Shirwadkar. They challenged the notification that increased the number of seats in the BMC from 227 to 236.
Earlier the state government had told the Bombay HC that the increase in the number of seats was proportional to the increase in population. Similarly, the State Election Commission (SEC) had told the high court that since it has a schedule in place further deviation will delay the election process.
The BMC too agreed with the state’s stand and said that the increase in the number of seats was undertaken to ensure the better management of issues. However, the petitioners claimed before the judiciary that the ordinance was undertaken taking the 2011 Census into consideration.
Since it is old, amending the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act on their basis is illegal, they believed. They instead wanted a new census to be undertaken to ensure that there is a proportionate increase in the number of seats.
However, the Supreme Court bench stated that it wasn’t inclined to interfere with the high court judgement and disposed of the plea.
Also Read: BMC Elections 2022: Over 800 Objections Received About Restructuring Of Wards
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