The state High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Election Commission, seeking a reply on the petition filed by Telangana Rashtra Samithi general secretary K Yadagiri Reddy. The petition had challenged the EC's decision to not conduct by-elections in Sircilla and Vemulawada Assembly constituencies.
Earlier, admitting the petition, the Court postponed the hearing on it to Friday, and directed the EC to file a reply by then.
The petition pointed out to the Court that the elections can be put off only if the situation is not conducive to holding elections, or if the general elections are scheduled to be held within a year.
Yadagiri Reddy further mentioned in his petition that the EC has no power to defer the by-polls, and pointed out to the Court that it is incumbent on the EC to conduct elections within 6 months after a seat falls vacant due to any reason.
The TRS general secretary cited the provisions of the Representation Of People's Act and Article 190(3)(B) of the Constitution, and accused the EC of violating these rules by deciding to not conduct the by-polls.
The Election Commission had earlier said that by-polls would be held in only 10 of the 12 seats in Telangana region from which pro-Telangana leaders had resigned. It said that election-related petitions were pending before the courts, forcing it to not conduct the by-polls.
Courtesy: INN News
filed in:Telangana By-Polls, Andhra Pradesh High Court, TRS