Nagpur: In a significant intervention, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) to conduct counting of votes for all ongoing local body elections on December 21, instead of December 3. The division bench of Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Rajnish Vyas also imposed a ban on exit polls till December 20.
The order was issued on a day when polling was underway for elections to 264 Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats across Maharashtra. The court was hearing multiple petitions challenging the SEC’s November 29 decision to reschedule polls in 24 local bodies to December 20 due to alleged irregularities.
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One of the petitions specifically questioned the deferment of elections in one division of the Chandrapur Municipal Council, while allowing counting for the remaining 26 wards to continue as originally planned. Petitioner and social activist Sachin Chute argued that results must be declared on a single day to maintain fairness and transparency. Chute’s counsel Adv Yash Kullarwar contended that staggered result announcements would compromise the level playing field. Senior lawyer Adv Firdos Mirza also represented one of the petitioners.
The petition stated that the SEC’s revised schedule “violates the fundamental principle that elections must be free, fair and equitable for all candidates,” demanding simultaneous counting for all wards. The High Court has scheduled the next hearing for December 10.
Meanwhile, the SEC explained that the decision to postpone polling in 24 local bodies followed judicial appeals against rulings of Returning Officers during scrutiny of nomination papers. In several cases, appeal decisions were delivered after November 22, and candidates allegedly did not receive the mandatory three-day withdrawal period as stipulated under Rule 17(1)(b) of the Maharashtra Municipalities Election Rules, 1966. This rendered subsequent allocation of election symbols after November 26 “illegal,” prompting the postponement.
The first phase of voting took place on Tuesday across 264 local bodies, while fresh polling for the affected 24 bodies will now be held on December 20.
The High Court’s directive ensures that results across Maharashtra will now be declared together on December 21, subject to the outcome of the next hearing.
