Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the State Election Commission (SEC) and the district collector of Rangareddy district to file a comprehensive report on the municipal chairman and vice-chairman elections in Ibrahimpatnam.
Justice N.V. Shravan Kumar issued the directions while hearing a writ petition filed by Tekula Sudarshan Reddy.
The petitioner submitted that he was elected as municipal chairman through a show of hands by ward councillors, but the election officer did not formally declare the result. He stated that the election schedule was initially fixed for February 16 and later postponed to February 17 by the returning officer.
According to the petitioner, on the day of polling, a habeas corpus petition was filed by the son of councillor Yadagiri, following which interim orders were passed not to proceed. He contended that by the time the orders were communicated, the voting process had been completed and only the formal announcement remained.
The petitioner claimed that 13 BRS councillors, one BJP councillor and one Independent member supported him and that no other nomination was filed for the chairman’s post from the BRS.
Senior counsel G. Vidya Sagar, appearing for the SEC, submitted that the issue could not be decided on the basis of photographs produced by the petitioner and that any decision must be in accordance with the Telangana Municipal Act.
Counsel for councillor Yadagiri alleged that certain political leaders had taken Yadagiri and other councillors to Andhra Pradesh and kept them away from their families. It was further contended that Yadagiri did not raise his hand in support of the petitioner and that there was political interference in the election process.
After hearing the submissions, the court observed that a conclusive determination was not possible without a counter-affidavit from the district election officer. It directed the SEC and the district collector to place complete details of the election process on record and adjourned the matter to Friday.
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