Uttarakhand HC directs counting of votes in Kichha municipal polls within 3 weeks

The Uttarakhand high court on Wednesday directed authorities to conduct the counting of votes for the recently held municipal elections in Kichha and Sirauli Kalan in Udham Singh Nagar district within three weeks, after hearing petitions challenging the deferment of the counting process.

A division bench comprising chief justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and justice Subhash Upadhyay was hearing petitions challenging orders of the State Election Commission and the state government deferring the counting.

The state government, citing law and order concerns following disturbances at polling booths during the September 22 elections, had sought two more weeks to conduct the counting. It told the court that the ballot papers had been sealed in ballot boxes and that adequate arrangements were required to ensure peaceful counting and declaration of results.

The court, however, granted three weeks for the counting.

In an earlier hearing, the court had stayed the State Election Commission’s order deferring the counting and directed that the process be initiated, observing that the elections had already been conducted and there was no apparent reason to halt the counting.

The matter was initiated after Kichha resident Alina Malik sought directions for counting of votes. During an earlier hearing before a single-judge bench, the State Election Commission informed the court that polling for both municipalities was held on September 22, but counting had been deferred until further orders. The single-judge bench had listed the matter for October 5.

Several petitions, including a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Kichha resident Naimul Hussain, were subsequently heard by the division bench. The petitioners alleged irregularities in determining reservation for municipal chairperson posts and claimed that the reservation status of the Kichha Municipal Council chairperson post was initially omitted from the government’s notification inviting objections.

The petitioners also challenged the government’s decision to prepare the reservation roster based on 43 municipal chairperson posts. They alleged that certain wards and villages had earlier been proposed for merger with Kichha municipality, a move that was stayed by the high court, before the areas were subsequently re-incorporated.

The petitions also sought elections for the newly constituted Sirauli Kalan Municipal Council, alleging that elections to the civic body had not yet been conducted.