Telangana HC refuses to stay preliminary notification on GHMC ward delimitation

Hyderabad: Telangana High Court has refused to stay the preliminary notification on GHMC ward delimitation and the merger of new wards.

The court was hearing a batch of 80 writ petitions challenging the preliminary notification on ward delimitation and the merger of new wards into the limits of the GHMC.

The decision has cleared the way for the state government to continue the process for now.

No interim orders by single bench

A single bench of Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy heard the petitions, which were moved through a lunch motion, and refused to pass any interim orders sought by the petitioners. The court, however, kept all the petitions pending for further consideration on the merits.

Background to the legal dispute

The challenge to the ward delimitation exercise has been unfolding over the past few days. On December 19, Justice Vijaysen Reddy heard three separate writ petitions questioning the GHMC Commissioner’s decision not to consider certain objections.

At that time, the judge directed the state government to place ward-wise population data and maps in the public domain within 24 hours, while granting liberty to the petitioners to submit additional objections.

Division bench modifies earlier directions.

The state government subsequently appealed against the single judge’s order. A division bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Gadi Praveen Kumar modified the directions, limiting the disclosure of ward-wise data only to the petitioners in those three cases, instead of making the information public at large.

State’s Stand: Petitions not maintainable

During Monday’s hearing, Advocate General A. Sudershan Reddy appeared for the State Government and urged the court to dismiss all 80 petitions at the threshold. He argued that the writ petitions were barred under Article 243ZG of the Constitution, which restricts judicial interference in electoral matters.

The Advocate General submitted that the delimitation exercise had been carried out strictly in accordance with the prescribed rules. He informed the court that over 5,000 objections had been received and duly examined, and that the entire procedure under the relevant rules had already been completed, with the proposal now awaiting final government approval.

Court’s observations

After considering the submissions, Justice Vijaysen Reddy noted that the stipulated seven-day period for filing objections had already expired. The court also took into account the state’s submission that thousands of objections had been examined in accordance with the laid-down procedure.

Process to continue, petitions pending

In view of these factors, the court declined to grant interim relief in any of the 80 petitions. While the legal challenges will continue to remain pending before the High Court, the absence of a stay means that the State Government is free to move ahead with the ward delimitation process at this stage.