New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to the State Election Commission and others on an appeal by the Andhra Pradesh government challenging the recent High Court order striking down an ordinance curtailing the tenure of the state poll panel chief from five years to three.
The apex court bench led by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde also refused to stay the order and sought response from the SEC and Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar, who was restored as state poll panel chief.
CJI Bobde said that the court was not satisfied that the motives of the government were completely innocent, and questioned whether how such an ordinance could be passed.
On May 29, the high court had struck down the Ordinance promulgated on April 10 by the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government, curtailing the tenure of the SEC from five to three years.
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It also quashed a Government Order appointing retired judge V Kanagaraj as the new chief and restored retired bureaucrat Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar as chief of the state poll panel.
The YSR Congress government had on April 10 abruptly removed Ramesh Kumar from the post by promulgating the ordinance, amending the AP Panchayat Raj Act, 1994, curtailing the tenure of the SEC to three years from five.
(With inputs from PTI)
