MCD Mayor Election 2023: The Aam Aadmi Party has got relief from the Supreme Court in the Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor election case. The Supreme Court has made it clear that the nominated members will not be able to vote in the election for the post of Mayor. The Aam Aadmi Party was continuously opposing voting on behalf of 10 nominated members. For this reason, the election for the post of Mayor could not be held yet.
‘Mayor post should be elected first’
The second objection raised in the petition filed by the Aam Aadmi Party and its mayoral candidate Shelly Oberoi was that the notification issued for the election called for the election of mayor, deputy mayor and members of the standing committee to be held simultaneously. . It was said in the petition that first the election for the post of mayor should be held and then the deputy mayor and other posts should be elected under the chairmanship of the mayor. The Supreme Court has also accepted this.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the petitioner side, said that the results of the Municipal Corporation elections came in December. Even after 2 months, all the key posts are lying vacant. Therefore, elections should be held tomorrow itself. But it was told by the MCD that according to the rules, a notice has to be issued 72 hours before the election. That’s why elections cannot be held tomorrow. On this, a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud ordered that a notice for the election be issued within 24 hours.
Nominated members cannot vote in corporation meetings.
It was argued on behalf of the Aam Aadmi Party that under Article 243R of the Constitution and the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act 1957, the nominated members do not have the right to vote in the corporation’s meetings. In response, Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, appearing for MCD, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for LG’s office, argued that nominated members cannot vote in regular meetings of the corporation.
But there is no restriction on their voting in the first meeting to elect the Mayor. But the Supreme Court was not convinced by this argument. The court said, “When it is written in the rules that the nominated members cannot vote in the meetings of the corporation, then this arrangement is applicable for the first meeting also.”
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