The Hindu : SC declines status quo on unseating of Stalin

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 16, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

SC declines status quo on unseating of Stalin

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI July 15. The Supreme Court today declined to interfere with the interim orders of the Madras High Court staying partially the operation of the `one-man one-post' legislation by which the Chennai Corporation Mayor, M.K. Stalin, got unseated as he chose to remain as an MLA.

A Bench comprising Justice G.B. Pattanaik and Justice Ruma Pal told senior counsel for the petitioner, K.M. Vijayan (who pleaded for an order of `status quo' to enable Mr. Stalin to continue as Mayor), that it was not inclined to interfere especially when the writ petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2002, was pending before the High Court.

The Bench, however, directed the High Court to dispose of the matter as expeditiously as possible, preferably on the date when it was fixed for final hearing (in August). In his special leave petition against the High Court's interim order dated June 18, advocate S. Udhayakumar submitted that by virtue of the amendment Act, a legislator holding the post of a Mayor in a Corporation, or Councillor in a Municipality or Panchayat would cease to hold that post if he did not relinquish the post of MLA. He said the High Court in its interim order granted only partial stay of the notification. The court's stay was restricted to treating the Mayor's post vacant and consequently no election could be held to fill the post.

He said the High Court had committed an error in not giving complete justice after coming to the conclusion that there existed a prima facie case for grant of stay. The limited stay order failed to protect the directly elected office of Mayor for its full term of five years provided under the Constitution.

The petitioner contended that the High Court's failure to exercise its jurisdiction properly to stay the impugned Act facilitated an unelected Deputy Mayor to hold the office by default, as against the duly elected Mayor who alone was entitled to hold the office as per the will of the people.

The petitioner prayed for setting aside the impugned High Court order dated June 18 and an interim stay of the State legislation; to restrain the Tamil Nadu Government from in any manner filling the post of Mayor and to grant `status quo' for the existing duly elected Mayor during the pendency of the SLP.

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SC declines status quo on unseating of Stalin