Goa EC will have to complete Panchayat polls process by April 30: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday in its order said that the Goa Election Commission will have to issue notification for Panchayat polls in the state within 10 days and it will have to complete the election process by April 30.

A bench of the Apex Court, headed by Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman passed the order.

The Top Court in its order today made it clear that the State Election Commissioners have to be independent persons and none of the states can appoint a person who holds any office with the government ruling.

On March 2, the Bombay High Court bench, which was hearing a petition related to irregularities in the reservation of municipal wards for women and Scheduled Caste categories, had postponed elections to five municipal councils, namely Margao, Mapusa, Mormugao, Sanguem and Quepem, by April 15. In all, 11 municipal councils and one municipal corporation were scheduled to go to the polls on March 20.

The Goa government had challenged the HC order in the apex court, through a special leave petition, even as two opposition parties, the Congress and Goa Forward, had filed caveats in the Supreme Court subsequently.

Opposition parties in Goa have welcomed the Supreme Court order.

"After this SC order, the CM should not be sitting in the chair for a single minute because of all the harakiri and flouting of election processes, his government has violated ahead of the municipal polls," state Congress president Girish Chodankar said.

( With inputs from ANI )