Madras HC to hear plea opposing urban body polls amid third wave

The first bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice PD Audikesavalu agreed to hear the arguments after senior advocate S Prabhakaran, appearing for M Nakkeeran, former joint-director, Medical Recruitment Board (MRB), mentioned the matter before the bench when the judges started the proceedings on Wednesday.

“People are affected due to the outbreak of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this is not the right time to conduct the elections for the urban local bodies,” Prabhakaran submitted. He pointed out the all-party that the Tamil Nadu State Election Commission (TNSEC) convened on Wednesday and added that the election notification could be released any time.

“If the poll notification is released, the election will be conducted. So, we request the bench to hear the matter at the earliest,” the senior counsel requested. Recording his submissions, the Acting Chief Justice agreed to hear the matter and directed the counsel to file a proper petition which would be heard on Friday.

The TNSEC has been taking steps to conduct the urban local bodies within January 27, as per the directions of the Supreme Court. A few days ago, a notification related to the reservation of seats for candidates was released.