High court reserves order on Ponda byelection petitions

Panaji: The Bombay high court on Thursday reserved its order after arguments concluded in the two petitions challenging the holding of the Ponda byelections on April 9.

The petitions filed by two voters of Ponda challenge the holding of the elections, contending that a proviso in the Representation of People Act, 1951, states that the elections need not be held if the new MLA will not be able to complete one year.

They told the hight court that the term of the present legislative assembly expires on March 14, 2027, and that the new MLA's term will be around 10 months and that he may only get one assembly session. If the general elections are held in advance, the candidate may not even get to attend one assembly session, they submitted.

The petitions stated that holding of the byelection entails huge expenditure both for the state and for candidates, and the entire machinery has to be put on election duties by divesting them of regular public duties. The imposition of code of conduct also affects day-to-day functioning of govt, and all this impacts citizens, the petitioners stated.