Nagaland government on Friday informed the Supreme Court that the State would be holding the elections to the Urban Local Bodies with 33 per cent reservation for women in June.
Accordingly the Supreme Court adjourned the contempt case filed by People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) to July 16.
The Bar and Bench in a post on X said: “After Nagaland informs that it will hold local body polls with 33% reservation for women in June, Supreme Court adjourns to July 16 contempt case filed by PUCL.”
It may be recalled that the Supreme Court had issued a contempt notice to state government for not honouring its order. The apex court warned that if those elections were not held as per the constitutional mandate for reservation of seats for women, it would take the matter to its “logical conclusion”. A two-member bench of the SC comprising Justices S.K. Kaul and Aravind Kumar had also asked the Union government to intervene and advise the state accordingly.
After the Nagaland Assembly unanimously passed the bill reserving 33 per cent of the seats in urban local bodies (ULB) for women in November last year, the state government had informed the Supreme Court that the election process would be over by April 30, 2024.
On December 11, the Supreme Court considered an affidavit filed on behalf of the chief secretary of Nagaland. The same affirmed that the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2023, was passed on November 9, 2023 by the Nagaland assembly.
A bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia took note of an affidavit filed by the Nagaland chief secretary and said that the rules be framed within a month– before 8 January.
“An affidavit has been filed on behalf of the chief secretary of the state of Nagaland, affirming that the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2023, was passed on 9 November, 2023… It is further stated that the rules will be framed within a month from the date of the affidavit, ie, on or before 8 January, 2024, and the election process will be completed by 30 April, 2024,” the bench noted in its order passed on December 11, 2023.