Local body quota: HC adjourns hearing to Dec. 2

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday adjourned to December 2 the hearing on appeals filed by the State government and the State Election Commission (SEC) challenging a single judge’s order to recast the reservation of offices of presidents and chairpersons for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and women in accordance with the principles of rotation.

The State government in its appeal to the court said the Supreme Court had clearly held that ‘protective reservation in favour of woman’, especially in view of Article 15(3) of the Constitution, was not illegal. The finding of the single judge that woman reservation should be limited to 50% of the offices was totally incorrect.

In its appeal, the SEC submitted that the entire election process had to be completed “in a compressed time frame” and any interference with the process would stall and protract the election process.

Besides, as the election process was already under way, the single judge should not have passed any orders that would interfere with the process.