Kohima: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday issued a stay order on the order which cancelled the general elections to the Urban Local Body (ULB) with 33% women reservation.
As per Live Law India, a contempt petition was filed in the apex Court against the state government.
It quoted senior advocate Colin Gonsalves who informed SC that the Nagaland elections were cancelled by the Election Commission with the consent of the Chief Minister.
The counsel for the state informed the apex Court of moving an application.
“So you as well as Election Commission is in breach of the order of the Court…We had said it would not be postponed,” Justice Kaul was quoted saying.
The bench said that the order of the Court dated 14.03.2023 was “quite clear” that any endeavour to “tinker” with the ULB election would be in breach of the order of this Court.
Hearing the matter, Justice Kaul informed that the move by the state government is “not acceptable”.
Earlier, the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly repealed the Nagaland Municipal Act 2001 in the recently concluded budget session.
The House had taken note that the implementation of the Act has always been “fraught with much controversy due to the public perception that the Act runs contrary to the spirit of Article 371-A”.
It was of the view that the ULB elections cannot be conducted till the NMA 2001 was repealed.
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Following this move by the state government, the state election commissioner called off the May 16 ULB polls.
It was only under the pressure of SC that the state government was compelled to announce the election schedule on March 9, which was later cancelled.
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