Councillors’ assets: Govt gets two weeks to reply

The high court has given the state government two weeks to decide on the failure of 36 BBMP corporators declare their assets.

Justice G Narendar was hearing a petition filed by Anil Kumar Shetty for issuing a writ of quo warranto against the corporators and asking them to show what authority they have to continue to hold office.

In the last hearing, the court had asked the BBMP to submit a detailed report in this regard.

Shetty contended that as per the provisions of Section 19 (1) of the KMC Act, every BBMP corporator must file, with the mayor, a declaration of assets and liabilities of themselves and their family members within a month of the start of their respective terms in office and again in the same month every succeeding year.

He said the incumbent corporators took office on September 11, 2015, and they are thus, expected to file declarations by Section 19(1) of the KMC Act before October 12, 2015, and then every succeeding year thereafter between September and October.

The petitioner also said he made representations to the regional commissioner about the corporators’ failure to comply with the act. But the regional commissioner has not responded to the representations, following which the petitioner approached the court.