The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the elections of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), scheduled to be held in the national capital on December 4, observing that once an election notification was published, it could not be stayed by the Court.
The Bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Abhay S. Oka dismissed a petition challenging the Delhi High Court order, which had also refused to stay the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections.
As per the Apex Court, since the elections were scheduled to be held in three days, the passage of time had made the petition infructuous.
Earlier on November 9, 2022, the High Court of Delhi had refused to stay the MCD elections. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad had given the same reason as the Apex Court for dismissing a bunch of petitions challenging the delimitation of certain wards and their reservation.
The High Court had also observed that once an election notification was published, the same cannot be stayed by the Court.
The MCD elections were notified by the State Election Commission on November 4. Polling will take place on December 4 and the counting of votes will be done on December 7.
However, the High Court issued notices to the State Election Commission, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Delhi government. The matter was listed for hearing on December 15 along with another matter on a similar issue.