West Bengal Minister and Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor Firhad Hakim’s bid to get elected as a corporator has hit another legal hurdle.
CPI(M) councillor Bilkis Begum, whose petition challenging the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2018, was dismissed by the Calcutta High Court on January 4, has now filed an appeal against the Single Bench order.
The amendment, which was passed by the West Bengal Assembly, paved the way for Mr. Hakim to be elected as the Mayor of Kolkata without being a councillor.
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Amended Act
The amended Act enables a person, who is not an elected councillor, to be made a mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The person would have to get elected as a corporator within six months to continue in the post.
Bypoll in ward number 82 of the KMC was held on Sunday, where Mr. Hakim is a candidate.
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Counting of votes will be held on Wednesday.
Ms. Begum prayed for the nullification of the amendment claiming that it is unconstitutional.
Justice Debangshu Basak had on January 4 dismissed the CPI(M) councillor’s petition observing that the impugned amendment is within the competence of the legislature.
Challenging the Single Bench order, an appeal was filed and is likely to be taken up next week by a Division Bench, presided by Acting Chief Justice Biswanath Somadder, the councillor’s lawyer Shamim Ahmed said.
Mr. Hakim, the State’s Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister, was elected the mayor of the KMC on December 3.
TMC in majority
The Trinamool Congress, which has a huge majority in the KMC with 122 seats out of a total 144, earlier elected Mr. Hakim as its leader in the civic body.
The Left Front has 14, BJP five and the Congress two seats in the civic body, while one seat remains vacant.