Panaji: Defending the ordinance that postponed elections to 11 municipal councils, state govt told the Bombay high court that the Goa Municipalities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026, was issued to ensure fair municipal elections.State govt’s affidavit said there is enough reason to hold the elections after the terms of the municipal councils ended. It also said the amendment supports the aim of the 74th Constitutional Amendment, which is to ensure fair elections.Petitioner Vallabh Prabhudessai has approached the court seeking an order quashing and setting aside the ordinance. He has sought an order declaring the impugned ordinance as inapplicable to the general elections of the 11 municipal councils whose tenure has expired prior to its promulgation.He has asked the court to direct state govt to conduct elections on the basis of the pre-existing delimitation and electoral framework, in a time-bound manner.Prabhudessai has challenged the constitutional validity of the amendment effected to Section 10 of the Goa Municipalities Act, 1968, which deals with delimitation of constituencies and reservation of wards/allotment of seats.Countering Prabhudessai’s claim that govt misused its powers and that there was no urgent need to bring in the ordinance, municipal administration director Brijesh Manerkar said no motive can be attributed to the legislature, or to the governor, for passing a law or issuing an ordinance.He said the court cannot examine whether the legislature acted in good faith or with alleged bad intent while making a law. Similarly, he said, the governor’s reasons for issuing an ordinance cannot be questioned in court.The ordinance was issued after the governor was satisfied that circumstances required immediate action. The govt affidavit said it was not clear on what basis Prabhudessai claimed that the ordinance did not set timelines for completing the elections, as every step under Section 10 has to be finished within the outer limit prescribed.It said the delimitation process must be completed within 60 days from the date the number of wards in a municipal area is published. After the draft delimitation of wards is published, suggestions and objections have to be invited within 30 days. The final notification must be issued within the next 30 days after considering the written objections and suggestions.
