ULB issue: SC pulls up Nagaland Govt again

Refuses to dispose plea citing ‘trust’ issue

Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 15

The Supreme Court, on July 14, once again pulled up the Nagaland Government over the delay in notifying the elections in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and granted two weeks to the Nagaland State Election Commission to apprise the Court over the issue.

A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundresh said there has been delay on the part of the State in its endeavour to keep the rights of women at each stage, PTI reported.

“It is only when the matter is listed before the Court and on the anvil of hearing, that something is done. The notification will now be issued by the State Election Commission belatedly on account of the failure of the State,” the Bench was quoted as saying.

Accordingly, the report added that it refused to dispose off the matter and posted the matter for the next hearing on July 29 stating: “We have no trust in the way the State Government is doing things.”

The Apex court on Thursday was resuming the hearing of a plea filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and others relating to the elections for all the Municipalities and Town Councils in Nagaland, including the constitutional mandate of 33% reservation for woman.

Meanwhile, legal news portal Live Law reported that the Bench was informed that the State Election Commission filed an affidavit, that they have been unable to notify the schedule of the elections and requested the state for issuance of notification.

To this, Nagaland Advocate General KN Balgopal informed that the State Government had given its administrative approval to the State Election Commission for implementation of the reservation but the Bench took exception to the delay in carrying out the process, pointing out that the approval was received only on June 12.

Accordingly, the Bench once again pulled up the ‘lackadaisical attitude’ of the State Government in the matter saying, “At each stage there has been a delay on the part of the state in its endeavor to keep the rights of the women gender.”

“You treat women’s rights like this for 12 years! 12 years. Something which could have been automatically done requires so much effort. It required a petition here… Appeal to the state government. Tell them they are doing something which is not right,” the Bench reportedly observed.

Terming this as “shocking state of affairs”, the Bench added:”…You talk about gender equality but…This is the part of the country where women are educated in the country, they are employed and they contribute to the economic development…”

When the State AG told the Bench that the ‘wind is changing’, highlighting recent appointment of women AGs, the Bench said, “Wind is going too slow. It needs to go faster.”

Constant reprimand
It must be noted here that during a hearing on February 22, the Bench also rapped the State Government’s ‘lackadaisical attitude’ over the issue and observed that “an important aspect of gender equality seems to be getting postponed and a decade has passed on that behalf.”

Among others, it then noted that State Government was not responding to the request of the Election Commission for conduct of summary revision of E-rolls for three Municipal Councils, 29 Town Councils and fresh E-rolls for the newly created Town Councils in the State. Thereafter, it directed the State Government to respond to the State Election Commission within two weeks.

After the Court’s directive, the State Government held a consultative meeting of all stakeholders including mass based civil society, church organisations, tribal hohos, political parties and NGOs was held at State Banquet Hall on March 9 to discuss the issue.

After the meeting, a notification from the Government claimed that the meeting “unanimously” adopted a resolution that “The elections to the ULBs should be conducted as per the 74th Amendment Act of the Constitution of India.”The ‘unanimous’ decision, since then, has been contested from many quarters and the issue is yet to be resolved comprehensively.

When the matter resumed hearing on April 11, the Senior Counsel for the State of Nagaland informed the Court regarding the resolution.

“In view thereof there is now no impediment to holding of the elections providing for reservation for women,” then stated the April 12 order. However, things seem to have not moved much thereafter, thereby inviting further reprimand from the Supreme Court.

The 33% women reservation in the ULBs election has been a contentious issue in Nagaland and ULBs elections have not been conducted for over a decade.

The State witnessed violent protests in 2017 which claimed two lives, following the decision of the state Government to hold ULB election. Subsequently, the entire process of elections to ULBs is at a standstill.

Source: https://morungexpress.com/ulb-issue-sc-pulls-up-nagaland-govt-again