The Bombay High Court on Wednesday struck down the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) notification for the Ponda Assembly byelection, effectively cancelling the polls scheduled for April 9. The court ruled that the notification was “null and void” as the remaining term of the current Legislative Assembly is less than one year.
The order was passed by a division bench comprising Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit Jamsandekar of the Goa bench of the High Court. The decision comes as a significant legal check on the ECI’s scheduling of byelections during the waning months of a legislative term.
The Ponda seat fell vacant in October last year following the passing of former Goa minister Ravi Naik. In response to the vacancy, the Election Commission issued a notification setting the polling date for April 9, with the counting of votes scheduled for May 4.
However, the move was immediately met with legal resistance. Two local voters filed petitions challenging the validity of the ECI’s decision, arguing that the notification violated statutory provisions governing the conduct of elections.
The core of the petitioners’ argument rested on the Representation of the People Act. Under the Act, holding a byelection is not mandatory if the remainder of the Assembly’s term is less than one year from the date the vacancy occurred.
The petitioners highlighted that because the current Assembly’s term is nearing its end, any candidate elected in the April 9 poll would only serve as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for a period of a few months. They argued that conducting a full election for such a brief tenure was not only unnecessary under the law but also a poor use of public resources.
Upon reviewing the statutory timelines and the remaining duration of the current Goa Assembly, the High Court found merit in the petitioners’ challenge. The bench determined that the ECI’s notification failed to align with the legal requirements necessitated by the short remainder of the term.
By declaring the notification null and void, the High Court has effectively halted all election-related activities in the Ponda constituency.
