HYDERABAD: In a judgement with far-reaching Constitutional and political consequences, Justice P. S. Narayana of the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday quashed the notification for the ongoing Panchayati Raj elections on June 10 after declaring that there was no valid electoral roll for the purpose of the polls.

This judgement halted in the tracks the election campaign in 16,000-odd Mandal Parishad and 1,097 Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituencies that was gathering momentum and expected to reach its peak after the last date for withdrawal of nominations on Wednesday. Thousands of candidates who had spent various sums of money on the campaign were at a loss about their future course of action. Dictating the order in a packed court hall, the Judge directed preparation of fresh electoral rolls by filling the existing vacuum in the rule position. Senior counsel S. Ramachandra Rao, who led the arguments on behalf the petitioners, had earlier dwelt upon the absence of specific rules and non-appointment of officers for the preparation of electoral rolls.

Justice Narayana, who was disposing of a batch of writ petitions complaining about irregular voter lists and the reluctance of the officers to rectify the errors, felt that after suppression of earlier rules and promulgation of the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj (Preparation and Publication of Electoral Rolls) Rules, 2000, a constitutional and legislative vacuum was created. The court, he said, was left with no other option but to conclude that the present electoral rolls were not sustained in the eye of law.

Facts different

Making it clear that the facts in this case were different from many others, the Judge noted that a large number of complaints of irregularities were filed prior to the notification.

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