Panaji: The high court dismissed a petition filed by a former corporator of the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP). The petition challenged the Goa govt’s decision to give powers to the directorate of municipal administration instead of the state election commission for ward delimitation and CCP election duties.A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Nivedita Mehta dismissed Menino Da Cruz’s plea on Monday, stating that reasons will be recorded in the order yet to be uploaded. Da Cruz sought the quashing and setting aside of an amendment to the City of Panaji Corporation Act, 2002, which he said undermines the role of the state election commission.The amendment takes away the powers from the state election commission, an independent body under the control and supervision of Goa govt, he said. The amendment was published in the official gazette in Feb 2005 and came into effect on Sep 24, 2004. He alleged that it removed the checks and balances exerted by the state election commission.Govt’s decision enabled last-minute manipulation of ward boundaries to favour a political party or group, Da Cruz said, citing several complaints by residents of various wards of voter fraud.He said that assigning delimitation to a govt-controlled body undermines election independence. He added that the amendment violates the separation of powers by allowing the executive to take over functions meant for independent constitutional bodies.
