Shimla, June 15
The Supreme Court has provided significant relief to the Himachal Pradesh government by allowing MLAs to vote in elections for mayors, deputy mayors, presidents and vice-presidents of urban local bodies. The court stayed an interim order of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which had barred legislators from participating in voting for leadership positions in municipal corporations, municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, MLAs will now be able to cast their votes in upcoming civic body leadership elections across the state.
Himachal Pradesh Advocate General Anoop Rattan said the ruling was not only a relief for the government but also a reaffirmation of the correct interpretation of the law. He argued that Section 10(3) of the Himachal Pradesh Municipal Act, 1994 grants MLAs voting rights as ex-officio members and does not restrict those rights to specific meetings.
According to Himachal Pradesh Advocate General , the Supreme Court observed that an interim order should not effectively decide the main case before a final hearing. The court also noted that MLAs are elected representatives of the people and their voting rights under the law extend to elections for civic body office-bearers.
The ruling is expected to affect forthcoming elections for mayors, deputy mayors, presidents and vice-presidents in local urban bodies across Himachal Pradesh.
However, the Advocate General said elections that have already been completed and where results have been declared cannot be reopened through this order. Any challenge to those outcomes would need to be pursued through an election petition.
