A day after the single judge bench's interim order withholding declaration of result of Karnataka Legislative Council election from Bengaluru Urban Local Authorities constituency, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday moved an appeal before a division bench.
The ECI has stated that the interim order is nothing short of postponing the electoral process.
The petition before the single bench was filed by Congress candidate Yusuf Sharif on the ground that 15 nominated members of Bommasandra, Attibele and Anekal town municipal councils have no right to vote in the election since they are nominated members of the municipality.
In the interim order, the single judge had directed that the elections shall go on. However, the votes cast by 15 nominated members shall be kept in a separate ballet box, placed in a sealed cover and the result of the elections of Bengaluru Urban Local Authorities constituency shall not be declared without the leave of the court.
Senior advocate Dhyan Chinnappa, appearing for the ECI, made a mention about the appeal by submitting a memo before a division bench headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and prayed for an urgent hearing.
He submitted that the single bench's order tantamount to interference in election process, which is not permissible in terms of Article 329 (b) of the Constitution. Article 329 (b) stipulates that no election to either house of Parliament or state legislature can be questioned, except by an election petition in the aftermath of the election process. He also said that the political parties may demand similar treatment with regards to other constituencies in the state, wherein nominated members have exercised their franchise in the election held on Friday. The division bench said that the matter will be taken up on December 13, a day before the counting of votes.
The ECI stated that since the election is held under the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, it is not feasible to cast the votes in the separate ballot box and keep the votes cast in a sealed cover. It is also contended that the direction of the single-judge bench will result in creating a separate logistic and other arrangement apart from the laid down procedures for keeping the votes cast by 15 nominated members.