Govt suffers setback: HC strikes down ward delimitation in 8 municipalities, one gram panchayat

Kochi: The state government faced a setback on Wednesday as the High Court annulled the ward division implemented in eight municipalities and one gram panchayat. Justice CP Mohammed Niyas, in a ruling, declared the move illegal and cancelled the ward delimitation notification issued for Mattannur, Sreekantapuram, Panur, Koduvally, Payyoli, Mukkam, Feroke, and Pattambi municipalities, as well as Padanna gram panchayat. The order followed a petition filed by Muslim League councillors in these local bodies.

The petition challenged the attempt to carry out ward delimitation through an amendment to the Municipalities Act. Koduvally, Mukkam, Payyoli, Feroke, Pattambi, Sreekantapuram, and Panur municipalities were formed in 2015. Local leaders from the League and Congress approached the High Court, arguing that it was illegal to redivide the wards in these municipalities based on the 2011 census when they had already been established using the same census data. Ward delimitation was carried out in Padanna gram panchayat in 2015 and Mattannur municipality in 2017, based on the 2011 census.

In July, the state government amended Section 6(3) of the Municipalities Act, increasing the number of wards permitted in municipalities. Following this, the government proceeded with the ward delimitation process in these local bodies. However, the petitioners contended that since Section 6(2) of the Municipalities Act specifies that the number of wards can only be changed based on population figures published in the census, the government's amendment did not apply to the newly formed municipalities, which were based on the 2011 census. They argued it was illegal to readjust the wards using the same population data.

As no new population figures have been published since 2011, the petitioners' counsel argued that altering the number of wards in the municipalities formed in 2015 violated Section 6(2) of the Municipalities Act. Therefore, the government’s amendment was deemed inapplicable to the newly formed municipalities and those that had already completed their ward division. The High Court accepted these arguments.

In addition to cancelling the government's ward re-division order, the High Court also quashed the guidelines of the Delimitation Commission. With local government elections scheduled for next year, the opposition has accused the ward division process of being politically motivated, alleging that the move was intended to undermine the elections through administrative influence.