MOHANAN N.K. Vs. KERALA STATE ELECTION COMMISSION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, being the member of Ward No. II of Pampadumpara Grama Panchayat, has a grievance that though five vacancies of ward members have been in existence since 09/11/2011 owing to the disqualification of the incumbents, the respondent Election Commission has chosen to conduct the bye-elections hardly six months before the general elections are due. Seeking judicial intervention on that count, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition. The learned counsel for the petitioner, taking me through the entire record, has submitted that on 09/11/2011 the respondent Election Commission, in a batch of election petitions, declared five ward members of the Grama Panchayat as disqualified. Soon thereafter, the aggrieved persons filed WP (C) No. 30341/2011 and batch, but without much success. Even WA No. 406/2012 and batch filed against the common judgments were dismissed by a learned Division Bench of this Court on 13/10/2014. The learned counsel has stressed that throughout, either in the writ petitions or in the writ appeals, there had been no stay against the orders of the respondent Election Commission.

(2.) In elaboration of his submissions, the learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the term of the present elected body of the Grama Panchayat is to expire by 31/10/2015, i.e. hardly seven months hereafter. Having waited for about four years, the respondent Election Commission now issued Ext. P3 election notification calling for bye-elections to be held on 08/04/2015. According to the learned counsel, the respondent Election Commission ought to wait for the next six or seven months, so that the general elections will be held and spending of public money on bye-elections will become evitable.

(3.) The learned counsel has also submitted that once the notification is issued the modal code of conduct comes into force, thereby putting on hold all developmental activities, apart from affecting the fund flow as well.