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Council poll notification to be stayed in A.P.

Legal Correspondent

Until further orders to be passed on writ plea by Sarpanches

HYDERABAD: A Division Bench of the High Court on Friday opined that all further proceedings, including issuance of election notification for conducting election to the Legislative Council, be stayed until further orders that are to be passed on a writ petition filed seeking voting rights for Sarpanches.

The Bench comprising Chief Justice G. S. Singhvi and Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy was dealing with a writ petition filed by the Sarpanches' Association represented by Y. B. Rajendra Prasad and others. They challenged the constitutional validity of Section 4 of A.P. Legislative Council Act, 2006, by which the sarpanches are implicitly excluded from the electoral college of local bodies' representatives.

The State and Central Government contended that members of erstwhile Panchayat Samithi were the voters and that Sarpanches were not members of the Mandal Parishads which replaced the Samithi. Only the members of Mandal Parishad territorial constituencies (MPTC) had been given the voting rights.

Counsel for the petitioner S. Ramachandra Rao said that Sarpanches were the representatives of the grassroot-level democracy, that is the Gram Swaraj, and the elections were being held without giving them the voting rights. He brought to the notice of the court the provisions of constitutional amendments.

Assistant Solicitor-General Rajashekhar Reddy representing the Union of India said the Andhra Pradesh Government had studied the issue and placed all the proposals before the Union and the law was made. Advocate-General C.V. Mohan Reddy said that the voting rights were of statutory nature and an Act of Parliament could not be challenged on the grounds raised by the petitioners. The Bench at 1.10 p.m. declared that the arguments were completed and that the judgment would be delivered soon.

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