Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday set aside voting rights of nominated councillors of Chandigarh municipal corporation.

A division bench, led by Justice SS Saron, passed the orders while allowing a petition that had claimed that voting rights to nominated councillors would be suppression of electorate's will. The pronouncement was done in the open court, but a detailed judgment is yet to be released.

Now the elected councillors will elect the mayor, senior deputy mayor, and deputy mayor directly without having to plead with a non-elected member. The role of the nominated councillors will be just advisory, for which these posts are meant.

Petitioner Satinder Kumar, a former councillor, had sought directions for quashing of provisions contained in Section 4 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, as amended and extended to Chandigarh Municipal Corporation in 1994, conferring voting rights to nine nominated councillors.Counsel for the petitioner averred that provision of voting rights for the nominated councillors was contrary to those contained in Article 243-R of the Constitution of India, which mandates that nominated members of the municipalities shall not have any right to vote in their meetings. So, the main issue before the HC was whether the provision of Section 4 (3) (ii) of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, giving voting right to the nominated members is ultra vires and contrary to the provisions of Article 243-R of the Constitution.

It was also submitted in the petition that such voting rights can be used for hijacking the democratic verdict of the people of Chandigarh. The nine nominated councillors whose voting rights were challenged include Charanjiv Singh, Ajay Dutta, Sachin Kumar Lohtiya, Haji Mohd Khurshid Ali, Dr Jyotsna Wig, Shipra Bansal, Sat Parkash Aggarwal, Kamla Sharma and Maj Gen MS Kandal. Raised on many plat forms for years, the legal issue against the voting rights of nominated councillors was settled finally on the fresh petition of former municipal councillor Satinder Singh, which he filed in October 2016. He shared with TOI the implications of the Punjab and Haryana high court verdict.

Why did you move the high court against the voting rights of nominated councillors in the municipal corporation?

I filed the petition as a municipal councillor in the last term, sensing that the genuine (elected) councillors were being ignored because of the voting rights given to the nominated councillors. The parties used to be under pressure to serve their causes for their votes.

What will change after this decision of the high court?

Now the elected councillors will elect the mayor, senior deputy mayor, and deputy mayor directly without having to plead with a non-elected member. The role of the nominated councillors will be just advisory, for which these posts are meant.

Will the affect be any significant, and how?

This is a landmark decision of the court and it will make a significant impact. Now the will of the public representatives will prevail and bureaucratic things will not be imposed through nominated councillors like earlier.

How will the political equation change within the MC?

Instated of placing just anybody to please the political bosses, the parties will have to identify good candidates for top posts in the civic body to set the equations right in the MC.

Did you get the support of your party on the issue?

My party supported me totally from Day One. Out national leaders Jagat Prakash Nadda and Aarti Mehra made it clear in press conferences. Harmohan Dhawan, Satya Pal Jain, and Sanjay Tandon had given a joint memorandum to senior officers about the need to cancel the voting rights of the nominated councillors.

The Congress government gave the voting rights to the nominated councillors. What are your views?

Yes, the Congress was behind this move to suppress the people's voice at every level in Chandigarh. After this landmark public judgment, now the city should strive for making a metropolitan planning committee.