SC stays Bombay HC order directing EC to hold immediate Pune LS by-poll

Supreme Court/ File pic

The Supreme Court, on Monday, intervened by halting the Bombay High Court's directive to the Election Commission for an immediate by-election to fill the vacant Pune Lok Sabha seat, left vacant since the passing of MP Girish Bapat on March 29, 2023.

A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, alongside justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra considered the Election Commission's argument that conducting a by-poll for the Pune Lok Sabha seat, with the current parliamentary term concluding on June 16 this year, would be impractical at this juncture, the PTI report added.

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According to the report, the apex court, however, expressed concern over the Election Commission's delay in organising the Pune LS by-poll for the vacant parliamentary seat.

When the Bombay High Court had last month directed the Election Commission of India to conduct an immediate Pune LS by-poll, the Opposition parties in Maharashtra welcomed the directive. They said that the constituent's residents needed representation and further stated leaving them unrepresented for an extended period stands against constitutional principles.

Murlidhar Mohol, a BJP leader and former Pune mayor, had then said that the Bombay High Court's decision should not be politicised. He emphasised the BJP's willingness to contest elections, adding that their candidate, Girish Bapat, won the Pune Lok Sabha seat in 2019, and his death necessitated the Pune LS by-poll, according to PTI reports. According to PTI, the Congress viewed the Bombay High Court's decision as a reprimand to the ruling coalition BJP and the election commission.

The Bombay High Court ruled on a petition brought by Pune resident Sughosh Joshi challenging the Election Commission's decision not to hold a by-election to replace the vacancy left by the death of sitting BJP MP Bapat on March 29, according to PTI.

The Court, led by Justices Gautam Patel and Kamal Khata, chastised the ECI for postponing the by-election due to its involvement in other electoral processes, including preparations for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Court judged this approach "bizarre and wholly unreasonable." The HC also pointed out the importance of elected representatives in parliamentary democracy, adding that leaving citizens unrepresented is illegal and destroys the nation's essential structure, according to the PTI.