Monsoon no reason to postpone elections: Supreme Court upholds Bombay High Court judgment to hold Goa Panchayat polls in 45 days

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea filed by the Goa government against a strongly-worded judgment of the Bombay High Court that had quashed the decision of State of Goa to postpone elections to 186 panchayats in the State [State of Goa and anr vs Sandeep Vazarkar & Ors]..A vacation Bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Krishna Murari rejected the argument by the State that polls were, and ought to be, postponed due to the ongoing monsoon season. " ... we find no reason to consider interference in the impugned order dated 28.06.2022 as passed by the High Court of Bombay at Goa ... [or] to interfere in the process of elections. However, in interest of justice, we deem it appropriate to observe that in case of any difficulty, it would be open for the State Election Commission to approach the High Court for necessary directions," the top court directed.The Bench reasoned that the judgment under challenge was in clearconformity with the requirements of Article 243-E of the Constitution and its decision in Suresh Mahajan. Further, the State had already notified the poll dates on June 30 in compliance with the High Court order, the apex court noted.Counsel for the State, Senior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, said that there could be flash floods and other such natural disasters during the monsoon."Our problem is that while some would say monsoon is not a calamity, but our contention is it can lead to flash floods etc. Who will give the machinery for relief work amidst polls?" it was argued."You know that there will not be any calamity at that time?," the Bench asked when the State said the poll process would be over by September, before rejecting the plea.After the hearing was over, the Court, while hearing the next case, remarked that monsoon cannot be a ground to stall something in States like Goa and Meghalaya."Wanted to say this in the earlier matter. In beautiful States of Goa and Meghalaya, monsoon can never be a reason to stall travel or something there. They become even more beautiful in monsoon," Justice Maheshwari opined.The Bombay High Court had, on June 28, come down upon the Goa government for postponing elections, noting that such defiance to comply with Constitutional mandate to hold elections have become a regular feature.A Bench of Justices MS Sonak and RN Laddha had noted that it was the fourth instance in the last two decades when the State Government and the State Election Commission (SEC) have failed to comply with the constitutional mandate under Article 243E to hold Panchayat elections.“This is the fourth instance in the last two decades when the State Government and the SEC have avoided or failed to comply with the constitutional mandate in Article 243E. The delay and consequent defiance of the constitutional mandate have become a regular feature," the judgment had said.The attempt, the High Court had said, was to bring about a situation of fait accompli, emboldened by the fact that not even the most powerful court can turn the clock back or recoup the lost time.It had, therefore, directed that elections be held within 45 days directed the State government to issue a notification under the Election Procedure Rules within 3 days, fixing a date for holding elections to the panchayats, whose terms had expired or are due to expire shortly..The Goa government challenged the decision before the top court contending that the High Court's decision was erroneous and would mean holding elections amidst rough weather including heavy rains and cyclones. It highlighted precedent to show that similar concessions had been made for local body polls in Maharashtra and Gujarat earlier. The plea filed through advocate Abhikalp Pratap Singh also contended that the need to comply with the triple-test towards OBC reservations also consumed time in issuing the poll notification. Accordingly, an interim stay on the High Court order is sought. .The tenue of 186 village panchayats had ended on June 18 this year.The Goa State Election Commission (SEC) had proposed to hold elections from May to June, however they were held back because the State government had not issued notification under the Goa Panchayat and Zilla Panchayat (Election Procedure) Rules appointing a date for holding elections.The SEC maintained their eagerness to conduct the elections and assured the Court of completing the entire process within 30 days of the State notification.The State meanwhile insisted that elections in monsoon were not conducive and hence the State had taken a “conscious decision” to hold the same in September of this year.It was the stance of the State since the power to appoint a date for holding the elections is vested in the State Government, the State Government's opinion and perception about the appropriate date for holding of such election will have to be respected.Advocate-General Devidas Pangam and advocate Abhay Anil Anturkar also appeared for the State. [Follow our coverage of the hearing].[Read order]