Telangana High Court won't intervene in mayoral poll

Telangana High Court won't intervene in mayoral poll

The High Court refused to look into a 2016 Act that allows legislators to vote in GHMC mayoral election

The Telangana High Court has refused to look into a contentious amended Act of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) that allows legislators to vote in the Mayor's election.

The issue was raised by Senior Counsel S Satyam through public interest litigation (PIL) before the HC bench of Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice A Abhishek Reddy.

The contentious GHMC Act allows legislators to vote in the mayoral election in their capacity as the ex-officio members. The term of the outgoing GHMC Council is set to expire on 10 February 2021.

"The notification for the mayoral poll will be issued before that. I urge the Court to take up the pending PIL on a priority basis," petitioner Satyam Reddy told the Court. The HC bench, however, refused to intervene reminding Reddy when he pleaded for an urgent hearing on 18 January 2021, reminding him that the amendment to the Act he was referring to had come into force in 2016.

Votes of the legislators in their capacity as the ex-officio members has become crucial in deciding who will be the next Mayor of Hyderabad since the December 2020 GHMC polls threw up a hung Council with the state's ruling TRS emerging as the largest party bagging 55 seats in the 150 member council, while the BJP ended up with 47 seats as against 43 seats of the AIMIM.

A total of 24 assembly segments come under the jurisdiction of the GHMS spread across Hyderabad and districts of Ranga and Medak. TDP which failed to win even a single seat in the GHMC polls has the maximum nine legislators, while the AIMIM has seven, followed by BJP five and TRS three. Votes of TDP legislators may become crucial considering the BJP might win the mayoral poll if they vote for the BJP's candidate over their arch-rival TRS' nominee.