SC gives TNSEC time till Sept 15 for local body polls in 9 new districts

A vacation bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Aniruddha Bose said that state poll panel will have to issue notification for the election to the local bodies, holding polls and declaring the results by September 15. 

“We grant extension of time till 15th September, 2021 to complete the entire process including publication / notification of election schedule and the result thereof before September 15, 2021 as the Constitutional mandate to conduct elections in the time bound manner cannot be defeated in this manner,” the bench said. 

The top court was hearing an application filed by Election Commission of India seeking extension of six months to hold elections to the local bodies in the nine-newly carved out districts of the state. 

It noted the order of the top court passed on December 6, 2019 and said that instead of four months given to hold the elections, the poll panel has taken 18 months. 

It also noted that the tenure of the local bodies expired in 2018-19 and since then there were no new elected representatives. The bench said that if the order of the court is not complied with, then the poll body will be liable for contempt action.