New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed the Maharashtra State Election Commission for rescheduling the 367 local body polls which had already been notified, purportedly for OBC reservations.
The apex court warned the SEC of contempt proceedings as it had clarified multiple times that SEC can not interfere with the elections that have already been notified and it can at the most realign the dates. The court reemphasized that the EC cannot renotify the election programme of the 367 local bodies to allow OBC reservations.
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The bench led by Justice AM Khanwilkar made the observation in the case regarding local body polls in Maharashtra. "This is not acceptable. You (SEC) are trying to misread our order for your convenience and may be under dictation of someone. Do you want us to issue contempt notice?" the court also comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and C T Ravikumar asked.
The court was informed on Thursday that the SEC has changed the programme dates due to 'monsoon and weather'. SC pulled up SEC for changing its counsel when the matter is partly heard. The court directed the SEC not to renotify the election programs and warned it of contempt proceedings in case of a breach.
