New Delhi: In a boost to the Aam Admi Party (AAP), the Supreme Court on Friday held that 10 nominated members in the Delhi municipal corporation, also known as aldermen, cannot vote in the elections of the Capital’s mayor or deputy mayor.
The Aam Aadmi Party has alleged that these aldermen, if allowed to vote, would skew numbers in favour of the BJP, since they had been nominated by the centrally-appointed Lieutenant Governor.
A three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, also ordered that once the mayor gets elected, she or he should preside over the elections of the deputy mayor and members of the standing committee.
At the moment, protem presiding officer Satya Sharma is a BJP councillor.
The AAP won 134 of the 250 wards in the civic body polls in December 2022, ending the BJP’s 15-year rule. The central party got 104 wards.
The court also noted in its order that more than two months had lapsed since the MCD elections and a mayor as well as a deputy mayor were still not elected.
Friday’s ruling came on a petition by AAP leader Shelly Oberoi, who — besides opposing voting by nominated members — objected to holding simultaneous elections to the post of mayor, deputy mayor and the standing committee.
Oberoi went to court after the municipal house failed thrice to hold elections due to the aldermen issue.
The bench quoted Article 243R of the Constitution and Section 3(3) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 to hold that persons nominated by the administrator do not have the right to vote. In doing so, it rejected the arguments of the LG, Delhi and MCD that nominated members were entitled to exercise their vote to elect both the mayor as well as the deputy mayor.
Article 243R provides for the composition of municipalities. Under it, clause 1 says that all seats in a municipality shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from the territorial constituencies in the municipal area and for this purpose each municipal area shall be divided into territorial constituencies to be known as wards.
“The prohibition on nominated members exercising the right to vote in terms of section 3(3)(b)(1) shall apply to the first meeting where the mayor and deputy mayor are to be elected,” the bench ordered.
It directed that the notice convening the first meeting of the municipal corporation shall be issued within 24 hours. The notice shall indicate the first meeting of the municipal corporation at which the election of the mayor should be held.
It further added that upon the election of the mayor, he or she shall act as the presiding authority for conducting the election of the deputy mayor and members of the standing committee. The prohibition on nominated members from voting shall continue to operate even during this election, the court said.
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